Treasure
"We're all of us prospectors up here, eh, Tyler? Scratchin' for that... that one crack in the ground. Never have to scratch again. I'll let you in on a little secret, Tyler: the gold's not in the ground. The gold's not anywhere up here. The real gold is south of 60 - sittin' in livin' rooms, stuck facin' the boob tube, bored to death. Bored to death, Tyler.”
- Rosie Little
Tyler is on an expedition and the crazy bush pilot Rosie is trying to figure out what part of the treasures available in Alaska he is after. When Tyler evades the question, Rosie says something profound and very holy. He identifies that the most valuable thing is not oil, gold, or manganese, but people. And that treasure is not being sought but is being squandered all around us.
The purpose of my life is to help others identify and offer the unique aspects of the Divine’s glory that no other creature can. And to do the same for their organizations.
But before I could get really good at locating, excavating, and calling out the treasure in others, I had to first identify it in myself. That was not easy. Authority figures, life experience, and even my interaction with faith-based organizations taught me how I didn’t measure up and typically missed the mark.
Heck, even the prevailing wisdom of my faith system seemed to say that thinking well of myself in any way was simply proud, arrogant, and ill-advised.
They didn’t do a very good job of identifying the treasure in me.
Without a deep understanding of who I was, every conversation and encounter was an opportunity to answer the question of my value. My posture in every situation was to determine my own value instead of mining for the treasure of the other person.
A rogue voice and an experience at a men’s event in Colorado awakened the idea that maybe God meant something when he meant me. That there might be a particular calling and glory to my life. But it wasn’t until a Life Plan experience mined for that gold and made the reality of that treasure so incontrovertibly clear, that I truly believed it and built a life in that direction.
“If you do not cut the moorings, God will have to break them by a storm and send you out. Launch all on God, go out on the great swelling tide of His purpose, and you will get your eyes open.”
When I say every day since it has been different, that is not an overstatement. Days that once felt like mere survival now seem to be drenched in purpose.
Not only has each step taken me in the direction toward the unique expression of God’s glory in me, but it has also allowed me to repurpose every experience of my life…both the good and the bad.
It is as if my purpose is clarified and affirmed through every significant experience I’ve lived. The really good ones pointed to that purpose and the difficult ones, as redeemed, refined and strengthened that purpose. I am finding so much more glorious a life, that I am spending my life helping others find the same.
Consider
Are you good at identifying the treasure in other’s lives?
Are you aware of the treasure of your own life?
Do you know why you are here and what unique contribution you were created to make?
What is not knowing your purpose costing you and the others you lead?
* If you are interested in taking a bold step toward finding the unique purpose to your life, join us March 27-29 for our next Life Plan retreat.