Joshua Pfeiffer

As Christians, we live outside ourselves. We do not forge our own identity and decide on our own purpose in life. Instead, we receive these from God. Since we are baptized into Christ, we are given an identity as His beloved children. As we are called to follow Christ, we are given a purpose of serving Him and our neighbor. Our lives are shaped by faith and love, each drawing us out of ourselves. This is the focus of my new book, Lift Your Eyes: How to Live Outside Yourself. We look up to God in faith and thanksgiving, and we look out to our neighbor in love and service.

As the father and his young adult daughter sat down to talk, she tried to express what she was going through, saying:

I’m so confused about who I am and where I’m going in life. When I was a child, life seemed simpler. Now my friendships seem to come and go. The dreams I had for my career haven’t been working out the way I hoped. I look inside and ask myself who I really am, but I’m not so sure anymore. I search my heart to try and discover what my passions are and where I should go next in life, but there, too, it all feels hazy and uncertain.