The following anecdotal story may or may not be true, but I’d like to think that it is true.
A personal director for a Fortune 500 company is said to have shared a story about interviewing prospective employees. Before discussing résumés, credentials, and work experience, he liked to disarm candidates with a little casual conversation. Then, when they least expected it, he would ask a question that seemed completely unrelated to business: “What is the purpose of your life?”
Most candidates responded with answers about success, happiness, family, wealth, or making a difference in the world. Then one day a candidate gave an answer that stopped him in his tracks.
Without hesitation, the applicant replied, “The purpose of my life is to go to heaven and to take as many people as I can with me.”
Of all the answers he had ever heard, the personnel director said that was the one he remembered most.
Why are we here?
The candidate understood something for which many people spend a lifetime searching. He understood that life is not merely about accumulating possessions, climbing corporate ladders, or collecting accomplishments. The purpose of life is eternal. We were created by God, for God, and ultimately to live forever with Him.
Yet the second part of his answer may be even more important than the first. He did not say merely, “My purpose is to get myself to heaven.” He said, “My purpose is to go to heaven and take as many people as I can with me.”
That answer reflects the very heart of the Gospel.
When Jesus looked upon the crowds, He saw not numbers but souls. St. Matthew writes:
“At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few . . . ” (Matthew 9:36-37)
Jesus saw a world filled with people longing for truth, hope, forgiveness, and love. The harvest was plentiful; the problem was not the harvest. The problem was the lack of workers willing to enter the field and do the necessary work to bring in the harvest.
Imagine a farmer standing beside acres of ripe wheat with a terrible storm approaching. The grain is golden, the weather is perfect, and the crop is ready for harvesting. Yet there are only a handful of workers available to gather it before the storms arrive. The farmer’s concern is not whether there is enough wheat. His concern is whether there are enough laborers.
That image helps us understand Christ’s concern.
Evangelize
Every person we encounter is part of that harvest. The neighbor struggling with grief and the coworker carrying hidden burdens are both part of it. The teenager searching for identity and the elderly person battling loneliness are also part of it. And the friend who has drifted away from God is part of it as well.
In short, the harvest is everywhere around us.
Many Christians mistakenly believe evangelization belongs only to priests, deacons, missionaries, or professional ministers. Yet Jesus did not call only a select few to participate in His mission. Every baptized Christian is called to become a laborer in the harvest.
The question is, how do we develop that desire to help others reach heaven? The answer begins by recognizing heaven as our true home.
Consider a traveler who has been away from home for many years. Every road sign pointing home fills him with anticipation. Every mile brings excitement and he longs to arrive at his destination.
In a similar way, Christians are travelers on a journey. But Earth is not our final destination – Heaven is our true and final destination.
Don’t be a Tourist
Too often we become like tourists who become so fascinated by the scenery that they forget where they are going. We become consumed with careers, possessions, entertainment, politics, and countless distractions. None of these things are inherently bad, but they become dangerous when they cause us to forget our destination.
St. Augustine famously wrote that our hearts are restless until they rest in God. Deep within every human heart is a longing for something greater than this world can provide.
Once we understand that heaven is our true home, a second realization follows naturally: we do not want to travel there alone.
Imagine boarding a lifeboat during a storm at sea. If your family and friends remained on the sinking vessel, could you simply sit back and enjoy the ride to safety? Of course not. Love would compel you return the sinking ship to help them, and as many others as possible, to get to the lifeboat.
The Christian life is much the same.
The Church is not a private yacht reserved for a privileged few. It is a rescue vessel sent into a storm-tossed world. Every Christian has been invited aboard and then commissioned to help others find safety as well. This desire springs from love.
Share the Faith
When Andrew encountered Jesus, he immediately went to find his brother Simon Peter. When the Samaritan woman met Christ at the well, she ran back to her town and told others about Him. When someone discovers a cure for a deadly disease, he does not keep it secret; he shares the cure.
Faith works the same way. If Jesus has transformed our lives, forgiven our sins, and filled us with hope, why would we keep that gift to ourselves?
Unfortunately, many Christians hesitate because they fear rejection. They worry about saying the wrong thing or they feel unqualified to speak up. Yet evangelization is often much simpler than we imagine.
A lighthouse does not chase ships, it simply shines. Its purpose is not to force sailors toward the harbor but to guide them safely home.
Christians are called to be lighthouses. We shine through acts of kindness and through forgiveness, and we shine through patience and by our willingness to listen. And most of all, we shine through our joy and our hope.
People are often drawn to Christ not because of a brilliant theological argument but because they encounter someone whose life reflects His love.
St. Francis of Assisi is often credited with saying, “Preach the Gospel at all times; when necessary, use words.” Whether he actually said it or not, the principle remains true. Our lives are often the first Gospel people will read.
Of course, words matter too, and there are moments when God opens a door for us to speak about our faith. We may share how prayer helped us through a difficult season or why we attend Mass. Or we may simply tell someone that God loves them and has not abandoned them.
Such conversations may seem small, but God often uses small seeds to produce great harvests. Recall, for instance, these truisms:
- A single acorn eventually becomes a mighty oak.
- A single spark can ignite a campfire.
- A single invitation can change a life.
One conversation may bring someone back to confession after decades away from the Church. One act of compassion may restore hope to a despairing soul. One prayer may begin a journey toward God. Yet, we rarely see the full impact of our efforts.
The farmer plants seeds months before he sees a harvest. Likewise, we may never know how God uses our words, prayers, and example. Our responsibility is not to guarantee results but, rather, to be faithful laborers.
A Worthwhile Goal
The candidate in that Fortune 500 interview understood this truth. He saw life through the lens of eternity. His goal was not merely personal success. His goal was heaven. And because he loved God and loved people, he wanted to bring as many souls as possible with him.
This should be our goal as well.
At the end of our lives, God will not ask how much money we accumulated, how many awards we won, or how many people admired us. He will ask whether we loved Him and whether we loved other, even though He already knows the answers to His questions.
So remember what Jesus tells us — the harvest remains abundant, the fields are still ripe, yet the laborers are still too few. May we all hear Christ’s call.
May we remember that heaven is our true home and that we should live each day with the same purpose as that remarkable candidate: To go to heaven – and to take as many people as I can with me.
