“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” – 1 John 2:15a, 17

During a visit to Cape Cod we took a 40 minute ferry ride out to the Martha’s Vineyard island. And let me tell you … what a spectacular view!

Shoreland in brilliant fall colors. Sailboats gliding across the water. Lighthouses dotting the beaches. Seagulls floating effortlessly through the salty air. In a word, picturesque.

My wife and I just took it all in and enjoyed the moment.

And even though it was a beautiful sight to behold, guess what our 4-year old boy, Jacob, was doing? While we were oohing and aahing over the sailboats and lighthouses and rainbow of colors, our 4-year old spent much of the trip playing with an old rusty latch on one of the benches located on our deck. That’s right, an old rusty latch.

Over and over we said things like, “Oh, Jacob look at the pretty lighthouse. Jacob, do you see the beautiful trees? Jacob, look at the sailboats.” Jacob would take the briefest of glances, and then head back to playing with the rusty latch.

You know, over and over again God gives us opportunities to gaze upon His beauty … I wonder how often we are preoccupied with the rusty latches of this world and fail to see the wonders of our Creator?

If we’re not careful, we get so busy with the “stuff” of life that we don’t take enough time to focus our eyes upon the really important things. Beautiful things like love and faith and peace and joy. Picturesque things like relationships and good deeds. Awe-inspiring things like seeing someone find their real meaning in life. Wonderful things like finding and fulfilling the purpose of God.

While there are many different things that dot the shores of our lives, the things that are borne out of our relationship with God are the ones that matter the most.

Sometimes we need a reminder to not be satisfied with the rusty latches of this world when God has so much more for us when we focus our attention on Him, and live to fulfill His purpose for our lives.

Maybe that surpises you … that God has a plan for YOU. The Bible tells us in Ephesians 2:10, “10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”

God has a plan for your life. You were meant to live for so much more than just random drifting… You are His creation and He has something special in store for you. And what a spectacular view it is when you find and fulfil your purpose in life!

Jimmy Brown jimmy@Living4Jesus.comhttp://www.living4jesus.com/