… and what are you doing?
“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” — Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)
There comes a time in every life when a man or a woman stops and asks, Who am I? and Why am I here? Usually, for me, these questions arise as I drag myself out of bed and head towards the coffee machine. For some, these are not a joking matter, and the questions penetrate deep into the soul—not because they are difficult, but because they demand something real—an answer that stands firm when the winds of uncertainty blow, even after a caffeine fix.
The world will give you a thousand answers—especially as you flick through social media—each one shifting like sand underfoot. Some will tell you that your identity is found in what you do—your career, ministry, achievements, or role in the church or life. Others will say it’s in the approval of people—if they like you, if they celebrate you, if they validate your choices—but none of that will ever be enough. Deep down, the soul knows when it has settled for something less than the truth—less than the Lord. Lived experience!
Augustine captured this struggle well when he prayed, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.” (Confessions 1.1). The reason we wrestle with identity is that we really were made for God, and apart from Him, we will never truly know ourselves or our place in God’s great plan.
You Were Made, Not Manufactured
The Bible tells us something far deeper than the world ever could: “We are His workmanship.” When we were saved by God, something happened to us that is nothing short of awesome. It was not an accident, a product of chance, or the sum total of our achievements. No, we were made—handcrafted by the living God—and that means we have a purpose woven into the very fabric of our being; injected into our DNA.
An object made by a craftsman has a design, and design speaks of intention. You don’t carve a violin by accident or sculpt a masterpiece from a large dollop of clay by mistake. In the same way, you were not formed at random. You are also not wandering this earth hoping to stumble upon your worth by a chance encounter. No, your worth has been set from the beginning because you were made by the hands of the Creator Himself.
That’s very nice, but we have a problem. Left to ourselves, without supervision, we don’t walk in God’s purpose—we do a Jonah and run from it. The verses just before Ephesians 2:10 remind us that we were dead in sin—literally, not figuratively—it’s a spiritual reality (Ephesians 2:1-3). We were following the desires of the flesh, chasing shifting shadows of identity and meaning. We were not merely confused—we were lost, without a moral and spiritual compass. Our identity was broken, shattered, smashed up by sin, and no amount of effort could restore what, like a broken mirror, had been shattered into countless pieces.
Jesus: The One Who Knew His Identity and Purpose
Who has it together? Where can we find a healthy, whole, pure example that never fails—not once? If we want to know what it looks like to live with true identity and purpose, we need only look to Jesus.
By the time Jesus was twelve years old, He already knew who He was and why He was here.
By the time I was twelve, I wanted to be a commando or a milkman.
When Jesus’ parents found Him in the temple, He said, “Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49). Even as a boy, Jesus knew His identity as the Son of God and His purpose—to do the Father’s will. And that purpose would lead Him to the cross, where He would restore the very identity we lost in sin.
Through His life, death, and resurrection, Jesus not only saves us—He restores us. We do not merely receive a second chance, an opportunity; we receive a new identity. “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” (2 Corinthians 5:17). The old has gone, the new has come. Transactionally, when you follow Jesus, this is done and dusted before you even knew that it had happened. Paul is just saying, “When you were born again, God cut the umbilical cord—everything is new!”
Purpose is Not Found—It’s Given
There’s that saying, “Some strive for greatness, others have greatness thrust upon them.” A similar thing has happened about purpose. Here’s where the struggle begins: people spend their lives searching for purpose like it’s something they have to invent. They try on different roles, hoping one of them will fit—chasing success, approval, even pleasure—thinking that somewhere along the way, purpose will appear like the conclusion of a golden quest…
Ephesians 2:10 answers this and tells us something remarkable. It says that the good works we are meant to walk in—our purpose, our calling—have already been prepared beforehand for us! That means your purpose is not something you have to create, find, discover, or dig up—it is something you receive.
Before you were even born, God saw the life He intended for you—saw the people you would bless, the work you would do, the ways in which your life would reflect His goodness to the world. The road was prepared. The path was set. And your role is not to invent a purpose, but to walk in it.
#Awkward! How Do You Know If You’ve Found It?
This is where we get to the heart of it. How do you know if and when you’ve found your identity and purpose?
A good place to answer that is to look at what you are building your life upon. If it is anything other than Christ, it will not hold—that much is certain. The job, the applause, the money, the influence—none of it ever lasts. The roar of the crowd’s approval becomes an echo in the wind. On the flipside, if your identity is rooted in Jesus—in the knowledge that you are His, that you belong to Him—then you stand on a foundation that cannot be shaken.
That will lead you to another question: Does my life reflect the workmanship of God? When a potter makes a big vase, it has a function. When a painter creates a masterpiece, it has a message. Your life is no different. When you walk in your God-given purpose, it will bring life, will bear fruit, and will align with the character of Christ—serving, loving, bringing justice, and showing mercy.
You can also do a little navel-gazing! Listen to the Spirit. Jesus did not simply know His purpose—He walked in it by the power of the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit that led Him into the wilderness, that empowered Him to heal the sick, that strengthened Him to endure the cross, now dwells in every believer. “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” (Romans 8:14). Purpose—your purpose—is not just about knowing; it is about being led, cooperating with the work of the Spirit in your heart and life.
A Purpose Worth Walking In
So if you are searching, if you feel lost in the noise of the world, take heart. You do not have to be weird and go find yourself, because you have already been found. You do not have to make your own purpose, talk to the universe, or go on a weird diet, because God has already written it. Your purpose is in Him. Your part is to trust Him, walk in what He has placed before you, and live as His workmanship, knowing that He does not make mistakes.
And when you do that—when you rest in the identity He has given you and step into the purpose He has prepared—you will find what your soul has been longing for all along.
And no, Jesus does not want you for a sunbeam.