The term “Purpose-Driven Life” was new to me until I read Pastor Rick Warren’s book. But the concept was not new to me. In fact, I understood that my life should be driven by some sort of a purpose. My problem was my own ignorance to that noble purpose. I thought it might just be equivalent to some traditional values of our culture. Therefore I honored my parents; I worked hard; I tried to do well in school. But I was still not convinced that doing all these things was the ultimate purpose of my life. In my teenage years, I began to ponder upon life’s ultimate questions. “What is the meaning of life?”; “What am I living for?”; “Does God exist?”  Since I did not have a spiritual mentor, I was groping on my own. I was searching for answers by listening to pop song singers (like the Beatles); by reading newspapers columns by popular writers (like Dear Abby); by watching Hollywood movies (like The Graduate); and by studying books on religions and philosophy (like Why I am not a Christian by Bertrand Russell). As a result, I became an admirer of the wrong persons who were living without God. I became more and more confused. Then came the blessed day when I made a decision to follow Jesus.  I am so glad that, now, my life is defined by my relationship with Jesus, and my life is driven by the purpose of pleasing God!

在讀華理克牧師那本書之前, “標竿人生”對我來説是個陌生的名詞. 然而, 這個概念對我來說卻並不陌生. 事實上, 我很明白應該有一個目標來驅動我的生命. 困難的是我對這個崇高的目標蒙昧無知. 我以為它大概就是我們的文化裡頭的一些傳統價值而已, 於是我孝順父母, 勤奮工作, 努力讀書. 但始終我還是感覺不到自己已經找到一個可以安身立命的人生目標. 從少年時代開始, 我會去思考一些人生終極的問題, 例如: “生命的意義是什麼?”; “我為何而活?”; “真的有神嗎?” 由於沒有屬靈的導師, 我只能自己摸索. 我試圖在流行曲樂隊(好像披頭四)中找答案; 我也試圖通過報張上出名的專欄作家 (好像黃霑) 的言論中找答案; 我也試圖透過觀看荷李活電影 (好像畢業生) 去找答案; 還有, 我也試圖通過閱讀宗教和哲學的書本(好像羅素的“我為什麼不是基督徒”) 去找答案. 結果, 我變成了一個崇拜無神論者的人. 我變得越來越糊塗了! 然後, 當我決志跟隨主耶穌的那一刻, 我蒙福的日子來到了! 我好快樂, 因為現在我生命的意義是根據我與耶穌的關係來界定的, 同時, 驅動著我的人生向前走的目標就是要討神的喜悅!