Note: this is Part 4 of a series. Here are links to Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 5, Part 6, and Part 7.

I occasionally wonder if I was born at the wrong time.

No doubt my mom wishes I hadn’t been a 12-hour labor! But that’s not what I mean.

Sometimes it feels like I was made for a different era in history.

I find so much resonance with other time periods in history generally or in church history specifically that I wonder why I wasn’t alive then.

Or I feel so out of touch with our present world—TikTok? Sorry, I don’t get it—that I question whether my values and priorities and aspirations fit with the times.

Of course my theology informs me that the timing of my birth is not a mistake. As the psalmist prays, “My times are in Your hands.”

God not only made you and me as he did (which is what we considered in my last email). God also made you and me when he did. That’s not all: he also made you and me where he did.

It’s all on purpose.

And it’s our opportunity to investigate why.

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For the past few weeks I’ve been leading you through a self-discovery journaling exercise I call a raison d’être, your reason for being.

​Last time I encouraged you to meditate on who you are—your central purpose, what you believe about yourself, what shows up when you show up, your dark side, and how the gospel speaks to your woundedness.

But we make a mistake if we presume to understand ourselves in an idealized vacuum.

No one is an island.

The context God created for us forms us in fundamental ways.

For example, think of someone who has had a profound influence on your life. Maybe a teacher or a coach, a pastor or a friend.

What would your life be like without them?

There are a handful of relationships over the course of our lives—and a great many friendships at key points along the way—that shape us into who we are.

That’s why Part Two of the raison d’être moves from the reason for your existence to the circumstances of your life that God designed uniquely for you.

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Part 2 – My Context

So today we’ll add four more areas of life to consider, each dealing with those influences, often beyond our control, that are profoundly formative for the way we live in God’s world.

So get our your journal.

Let’s move forward in our self discovery.

1. Historical context

In this section your aim is to answer the question, When are you?

I know that sounds strange. But it’s a really good question.

And how you answer it says a lot about how you understand the world you were born into.

You might start with a fairly objective answer—for a few more weeks, it’s 2022.

But how would you describe this time period?

Looking back in history we identify epochs and eras, often using descriptions that the people living then did not use.

No one living in 1125 thought they were living in the Middle Ages.

And yet we can identify specific traits that describe hundreds of years.

Or think about it more narrowly. Consider phrases like the Roaring 20s, the Reagan Years, or GenX.

Each conjures an image in our mind of what life was like for a particular people at a particular time.

How would you describe the current moment? What cultural trends do you perceive? Where have we been, and where do you think we’re going?

Which brings us to a second question.

2. Geographical context

The question here is, Where are you?

Where has God put you?

Like the last question, there are braoder and narrower ways to describe your geographical context, from your hemisphere down to your street address.

But even if your response seems straightforward and objective, the way you answer this question is unique to you.

You perceive and interpret the objective facts of your surroundings in a way no one else does.

Don’t believe me?

Start describing what you notice about where you live. What is the literal lay of the land? What is the weather like? What inspires you about where you live? What depresses you?

How have things changed? Are there new developments around you? What has been destroyed, reshaped, or gone empty? Have you noticed changes to the environment? What do these shifts tell you about where you live?

Our geographic context plays a tacit and typically underrated role in our formation.

3. Interpersonal context

The question you’re addressing here is, Who are you with?

(Or, if you’re a grammar nerd, With whom are you?)

We have a mutually formative impact on the people around us—we form them, and they form us.

So who are they?

In my raison d’être I group types of people together. For example one section lists my family, from immediate to extended. Another includes local friends, and a third identifies non-local friends.

Consider adding sections detailing fellow ministers or members at church, colleagues at work, neighbors, other parents at your kids’ school, gym buddies—anyone with whom you regularly interact.

You might also jot down people who once had a formative influence in your life but who have since passed away or are otherwise no longer a regular part of your life.

A great tool to include here is your genogram, a visual presentation of your family of origin with special emphasis on relational stress that shaped your way of interacting with the world.

(If you create a genogram, these questions from Steve Cuss can help you process what you discover.)

This section helps me keep track of key relationships in life. Many times I’ve found myself reaching out to someone because of my weekly review of these lists.

4. Kingdom story

Now comes the fun part!

Given everything you’ve written to this point, in both Parts 1 and 2, spend some time with this question:

What kingdom story is God writing through my life?

Last week’s final question centered on a gospel affirmation, the good news God has declared over you.

This week closes with another major biblical theme: the kingdom of God.

What comes to mind when you hear the phrase “the kingdom of God”? And what part does your life play in the unfolding of his great kingdom work?

This section is crucial for turning our gaze outward, away from ourselves to the larger global purposes God is fulfilling. It guards us against our society’s rampant self-centeredness that a raison d’être might otherwise feed.

In fact, left on its own even the gospel affirmation at the end of Part 1 may unwittingly reinforce an unbiblical individualism that is foreign to the Scriptures themselves.

But situating our lives within the kingdom of God binds our selves to the worldwide communion of faith and God’s eternal purposes for his world.

Given your context—historical, geographical, and interpersonal—what kingdom story is God writing with your life?

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Like last week, let me encourage you to set aside 30 minutes this week to ponder and sketch responses to these questions.

God put you where you are, when you are, and with whom you are for good purposes. Kingdom purposes.

Let’s take invest some time this week to discover why he did.

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Discussion question

What is the Spirit teaching you about yourself?

It’d be a delight to hear what you’re learning. Simply drop a comment below to start the conversation.