Know Your Why
by Ken Costa (published by W Publishing Group, an imprint of Thomas Nelson, 2016).
“Who am I?” and “Why am I here?” are vital questions that everyone wrestles with at some stage in their journey. Ken Costa starts his book with a different question, the first thing that Jesus is recorded as saying in John’s Gospel – “What do you want?” (John 1:37). Discovery of our unique calling starts, he says, with gaining a deep understanding of our heart’s desires, our passions, and how these relate to our identity in Christ.
Questions about purpose and identity are especially relevant in the twenty-first century, when global travel, improved education, social media and a humanistic, self-seeking FOMO culture provide people with so many more life choices and options than 50 to 100 years ago. Ken Costa is refreshingly honest about the dilemmas and difficulties of discovering our calling:
I wish I could style myself as an expert in Christian calling. But as often happens when dealing with the affairs of God, I have perhaps been left with more questions at the end of writing than I started out with at the beginning. The journey of discovering a life-calling is filled with questions, with wrestling and with a search for truth. It doesn’t come in a neat, systematic package to be carefully unwrapped and assembled like some existential flat-pack bookcase. It is a journey of faith, to be experienced in the day-to-day questioning of a life lived to the full.
Although Ken is a successful businessman and has worked in the hurly burly of global financial markets for many years, he is refreshingly clear that finding purpose and calling are equally important if your job happens to be serving coffee. Every Christian, whatever we do, is called to be salt to the earth and light to the world.
This book is packed with wisdom. The final section on the Holy Spirit’s role in helping us discern our purpose is particularly helpful and inspiring. So, too, is the very pragmatic advice to consider, consult, clarify, be courageous and learn to be content whatever the circumstances. Ken Costa has wrestled with difficult decisions all his life and through doing so has gained a real, pragmatic insight into how scripture, worship and the Holy Spirit can encourage, equip and empower us in our daily work.