By God’s mercy and grace we have been blessed to come through one year and see the beginning of another. As the psalmist declares, “O give thanks unto the Lord for He is good.” He is not only good to us, He is good for us.

A new year represents a new beginning; a time to make a fresh start. For many it is a time for making resolutions and promises to make our lives better or reach goals that we have set for ourselves. When we make them, most of us do so with optimism and every intention to keep them. However, a majority of us do not keep the resolutions or promises that we make to ourselves, about ourselves. Most of the time before January is over, we have already failed to keep our resolutions and promises - the year begun ends with us being the same as the previous one. We throw our hands up in despair and defeat and accept life as it is.

Perhaps this year we should not focus on resolutions and promises, but seek to find the purpose for our lives. Most people go through life without ever finding their purpose. Life without purpose is not meaningful, not fulfilling. We wander with no drive or focus. Purpose provides motivation. When we wake up in the morning, we know what we are about. Our purpose is the reason for which we are in the world.

The reason is that we cannot discover the purpose for our lives without God. Most people give little or no acknowledgement to God in their daily living; they are too busy “living.” They ignore the fact that they are alive because of God’s mercy, and do not consider that the reason their lives are unfulfilled and not satisfying is because God is absent in their lives. When each of us was born, we were born with a purpose. None of us is an accident, or illegitimate; it is God’s will for us to be here. We were born for a purpose.

It is disappointing to see so many people wander through life not knowing their purpose. – people walking the streets of our cities, standing on corners, behind prison bars, and idle at home while their lives drift away.

Many of them are also in our churches. It is not enough just to come to church; God has something that we were born to do to promote His kingdom on earth. We were born not only to praise Him, but also to serve Him. And God has equipped each of us with what we need to fulfill the purpose for which we are born. We were born to make a contribution and make a difference where we are.

As we begin this year, I pray that each of us who has not found the purpose for which we were born, will seek to find it. To do this we must seek a closer, genuine relationship with God.This will require much prayer, fasting, seeking and most importantly, trusting Him. There are many important things we may want to accomplish this year, but none more important than finding our purpose in life. We are never too old or too young to find it. Now is a good time to begin.

God uses us to make a difference where we are and in the lives of others. Maybe your purpose is to be a teacher, a nurse, a lawyer, an artist, a counselor, consultant, financier. Perhaps it is working with your hands as a plumber, electrician, landscaper, or maybe a housewife raising a family. Maybe it’s ministry, administration or public service. It could be a host of things, but it is specific to you. Whatever one’s purpose is, it is always to make a difference and be a blessing to others. God is glorified when we live purposeful lives. This may be the year we find our purpose, and when we do, may we be faithful in fulfilling it.

I pray for each of you God’s best for the year ahead. May our lives bring glory to God who alone is worthy.

Rev. Jackson is pastor of St. Matthew A.M.E Church, Orange, NJ and Executive Director of the Black Ministers Council of New Jersey.