Listen very carefully: Your life matters. Your life counts. You have a purpose. Never let anyone tell you otherwise. In Jeremiah 1:4-10 we have the historical account of God’s call on the life of the prophet Jeremiah. In verse 5 we see a very powerful statement from the Lord. “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” In keeping with good hermeneutics and comparing scripture with scripture, we learn some very powerful truths about our own lives from this one verse in light of the context of the whole Bible.

God knows you and He wants you to know Him. God knew you before you were ever born. In His omniscient sovereignty, God knew that you would be born. God knows your name. God knows everything about you. He even knows the number of hairs on your head. He knows more about you than you know about yourself. He created you. He formed you in your mother’s womb. He knows you completely and He loves you. He loves you so much that He sent Jesus to die on an old rugged cross to pay the price of sin for you and to give you a way of salvation. His desire above all else is that you would know Him. He invites you to be a part of His Kingdom. He offers you a certificate of adoption and welcomes you into His family. However, for you to enter His Kingdom and for you to be adopted into the family of God, you must by faith receive Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. You must recognize the fact that you are a sinner, and you must understand your need for a Savior. You must believe that Jesus is that Savior and that He is the only way of salvation. Then, you must make a conscience decision to accept His invitation and trust in Christ alone for your salvation. By doing so, you will be a part of the family of God. God knows you and His number one desire is that you know Him too.

God has a plan and a purpose for your life. God told Jerimiah that “before thou camest from the womb I sanctified you…” The word ‘sanctified’ means to be set apart. God’s word to Jeremiah did not mean that He was saved from birth. Salvation only comes through faith in Christ. For Jeremiah, he had to look ahead to the cross and have faith in the promised Messiah. For you and I, we look back at the cross and put our faith in what Christ has already done for us. God ‘sanctifying’ Jeremiah in the womb is a reference to His plan and purpose for Jeremiah’s life. Just as God had a plan and purpose for Jeremiah, He also has a plan and purpose for you. His plan is that you know Him (that you are saved) and that you serve Him. By knowing Him and serving Him, you fulfill God’s ultimate purpose that He may be glorified in and through you. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says, “Whether therefore you eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” Your life is to bring glory to Him. That is why you are here. That is your purpose.

Once you have accepted Christ as your Savior, you are now called to be an ambassador of Jesus Christ to this world. This is what all believers in Christ are ‘sanctified’ or ‘set-apart’ to be. This is God’s plan for you. 2 Corinthians 5:20 says, “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ…” An ambassador is a representative. As a child of God, you belong to His Kingdom. You are no longer a citizen of this earth; you are a citizen of the Kingdom of God. Therefore, you have been sent to a foreign land to live out your life as a representative of the Kingdom of God to this world. Before you were even born, God’s plan for you is that you would one day receive Christ as Savior and live as an ambassador of the Kingdom of God to this world. This is what you were made for. This is what you were created for.

God has a specific responsibility for you. God told Jeremiah that he was ordained to be a prophet to the nations. God had a specific job or responsibility for Jeremiah. Within God’s Divine Sovereignty His plan and purpose for you before you were even born is that you would know Him. That you would come to faith in the Lord Jesus and that as part of His Kingdom, you would live your life as an ambassador of Christ to this world all for the glory of God. However, it is within that overall purpose for your life that God has also give you a specific responsibility. Though His ultimate plan and purpose for everyone is the same (that we may know Him and serve Him), He gives us specific jobs to do based on our God-given talents, personalities, and spiritual gifts. For Jeremiah, it was to be a prophet to the nations. For you it may be to be a farmer, or a factory worker, or a mechanic, or a builder, or an engineer, or a doctor, or a lawyer, or a school teacher, or a business owner, or a pastor, or a missionary, or a stay at home mom, and the list goes on. God also calls all of us to be involved in a local church and to serve Him in and through that church. Therefore, in addition to your occupation, God may call you to be a Sunday School teacher, or a deacon, or a nursery worker, or to serve on a committee, or a greeter, and so forth. Whatever occupation God leads you to, you are to be an ambassador of Christ in that occupation. And within that, God will give you certain specific daily tasks and responsibilities as an ambassador of His Kingdom. Maybe it is to help someone in need. Maybe it is to share the Gospel with a lost friend. Whatever the case may be, we are here for a reason. We have a purpose. Our purpose in all that we do is to represent the Kingdom of God to this world. Our purpose is to bring others to Christ. This is what we are to live for. No matter where God has us and no matter what He has us doing, we are to live for Christ and Christ alone by bringing others into His Kingdom. In other words, we are to be missional.

In conclusion, we must understand that though God had a plan and purpose for Jeremiah, a choice still had to be made. God did not force His plan on Jeremiah. Could Jeremiah have chosen to go a different way and not do what God created him to do? Absolutely. Thankfully, Jeremiah made the right choice and was obedient to the Lord. What about you? God has a plan and purpose for your life. God has very specific roles for you to play and responsibilities for you as an ambassador of His Kingdom. Will you, like Jeremiah, be obedient? Will you answer God’s call and fulfill your God-give purpose?