Point to Ponder: It’s all for Him.
Insight: “The Lord has made everything for His own purposes.” Prov 16:4
Why are we here? The ultimate goal of the universe is to show the glory of God. Without God’s glory, there would be nothing.
What is the glory of God? It is who God is. God’s glory is the expression of his goodness and all other intrinsic, eternal qualities.
Where is God’s glory? Look around! Everything created by God reflects His glory in some way, from sunset to stars from storms to seasons. Creation reveals our Creator’s glory. In nature we learn that God is powerful, that he enjoys variety, loves beauty, is organized, and is wise and creative.
God’s glory is best seen in Jesus Christ. God inherent glory is what He possesses because He is God. It is His nature. We cannot add anything to this glory, just as it will be impossible for us to make the sun shine brighter. But we are commanded to recognize His glory, honor His glory, declare His glory, praise His glory, reflect His glory, and live for His glory. Why? Because God deserves it! Since He made all things, He deserves all the glory.
Did you know that in the entire universe, only two of God’s creations fail to bring glory to Him: fallen angels (devil) and us (people). All, sin at its roots, is failing to give God glory. It is loving anything else more than God. Refusing to bring glory to God is prideful rebellion, and it is the sin that caused Satan’s fall—and ours, too.
How can we bring glory to God? There are many ways to bring glory to God, but they can be summarized in God’s 5 purposes for our life.
1. We bring God glory by worshiping him. Worship is our first responsibility to God. We worship God by enjoying Him. Worship is a lifestyle of enjoying God, loving Him, and giving ourselves to be used for His purposes.
2. We bring God glory by loving other believers. Following Christ is not just a matter of believing; it also includes belonging and learning to love the family of God.
3. We bring God glory by becoming like Christ. Spiritual maturity is becoming like Jesus in the way we think, feel, and act. The more we develop Christlike character, the more we will bring glory to God.
4. We bring God glory by serving others with our gifts. Each of us was uniquely designed by God with talents, gifts, skills, and abilities. The way we are “wired” is not an accident. God didn’t give us our abilities for selfish reasons.
5. We bring God glory by telling others about Him. Once we know the truth, he expects us to share it with others. This is the great privilege—introducing others to Jesus, helping them discover their purpose, and preparing them for their eternal destiny.
What will you live for? Jesus stood at the same fork in the road. Would He fulfill His purpose and bring glory to God, or would He shrink back and live a comfortable, self-centered life? Even Jesus struggled and knowing that He was about to be crucified, he cried out: “My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Thy name.”
Living the rest of our life for the glory of God will require a change of priorities, our schedule, our relationships, and everything else. The big question is: will you live for your own goals, comfort, and pleasure, or will you live the rest of your life for God’s glory?
God is inviting us to live for His glory by fulfilling the purpose he made us for. It’s really the only way to live. Everything else is existing.
Real life begins by committing ourselves completely to Jesus Christ. How do we do that? All we need is to receive and believe.
Believe – Believe God loves us and made us for His purposes. Believe we are not an accident. Believe we were made to last forever. Believe God has chosen us to have a relationship with Jesus, who died on the cross for us. Believe that no matter what we’ve done, God wants to forgive us.
Receive – Receive Jesus into our life as our Lord and Savior. Receive His forgiveness for our sins. Receive His Spirit, who will give us the power to fulfill His purpose.
If you are reading this, consider bowing your head and quietly whisper the prayer that will change your eternity. “Jesus, I believe in you and I receive you.”
My thoughts: Living for God is something that I have been searching for a while. I can remember in my late teens, looking and longing for life’s meaning. It was a search that continued throughout my 20s, 30s and became sort of my guiding light in my early 40s until now. But I have to tell you, it was not an easy decision. I remember in my late 20s when I felt the call of God that I wanted to wait until after my birthday weekend to commit myself to God because I wanted to go out and enjoy everything that the world had to offer before I came to God because I didn’t want to miss out on the “earthly” celebrations. Looking back it was one of the worst decisions of my life; nothing happened the way I thought it would happen. To be honest with you, I have learned that unless I have God in my life, nothing happens they way it is meant to be. He is in control, ALWAYS!
I realize that for some reason we humans have this idea that being Christlike makes us “boring” and we cannot enjoy everything that life has to offer. What a bunch of nonsense, to the contrary I have enjoyed more joy and happiness now than I did then with all my “earthly” ideas of life and fun. The more I walk with God, the more I realize how amazing His love for His people is and how much His grace covers us. Don’t get me wrong, I feel like I just scratched the surface in understanding His glory and greatness and I am still learning. Now, I don’t allow circumstances to distract me from walking with Him and listening to His still small voice.
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