Rising very early before dawn, he left and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed. Simon and those who were with him pursued him and on finding him said, “Everyone is looking for you.” He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages that I may preach there also. For this purpose have I come.” So he went into their synagogues, preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee. 

"I don’t want to be anything other than what I’ve been trying to be lately," Gavin DeGraw sings. "All I have to do is think of me and I have peace of mind. I’m tired of looking 'round rooms wondering what I gotta do or who I’m supposed to be. I came from the mountain, the crust of creation. My whole situation—made from clay to stone. And now I’m telling everybody: I don’t want to be anything other than what I’m trying to be lately. I don’t want to be anything other than me." We have to begin our maturity by recognizing that we begin with ourselves—that’s all we have, and it’s worth our time and effort. 

There is purpose to the person in Gavin DeGraw’s song, "I Don’t Wanna Be." The purpose is very simple: he does not have to be anyone else, or act like other people want him to act, or pretend that he is something that he is not. "I’m tired of looking 'round, wondering who I’m supposed to be," he sings.
 
Further, he lives with purpose with some guide in mind. The person in the song alludes to this necessity when he sings, "I came from the mountain, the crust of creation. My whole situation—made from clay to stone." He realizes in some way that he was created by God, God who spoke to Moses on the mountain, God in Jesus who spoke the Sermon on the Mountain. Perhaps that God will help him as he develops his understanding of "who he is." But ultimately, it is he who decides what his purpose is in life.

Jesus had the same thought as he began his public ministry in Galilee. He tells his apostles that his purpose in life was to preach to anyone who would listen. He came to that conclusion only after he prayed to his Father for guidance. His whole life, then, followed from that purpose of his.
 
You and I have a purpose in life, and it is not at all different from the insights of Jesus and Gavin DeGraw. We have to begin with ourselves, see how we feel about our future lives, allow ourselves to be guided by our Creator, and then motivate ourselves to live as best we can with a true purpose.                       

THOUGHT
 
PRAYER

Good and gracious God, you call us to live lives of purpose, that is to live in such a way that we can feel good about who we are and what we are all about. Give us the insight to understand that such a life can only come to someone who has accepted you as a guide in their lives. Be with us, we pray.

Questions, comments? Let me know. Email Fr. Mike

©2007 Capuchin Province of Mid-America
Fr. Mike Scully is a member of the Capuchin Province of Mid-America