Living Life God's Way...
I’ve learned in the past that the reason for our existence and everything is for God’s glory. And, we bring glory to God by doing everything we do as unto the Lord and we point to God’s glory by attributing our successes to Him. But, I realise now that I missed out a very crucial link and that is how what we do which is done for God’s glory actually brings glory to God.
To begin to answer this question we need to know what God’s glory is.
What is God's glory?
First, it is used for God's physical radiance. For example, Exodus 24:16, 17 says,
"And the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. And to the eyes of the sons of Israel the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the mountain top."
Of course, it is impossible for me to glorify God in this way, because nothing I can do will add anything to His physical radiance. Even if I strap an atom bomb to my chest and detonate it, that burst of the bomb's radiance, no matter how brilliant, would not add to God's radiance at all.
Second, "glory" is used for God's character, for His moral purity and perfection. For example, Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Again, I cannot glorify God in this way, because nothing I do can make God more morally perfect or improve the purity of His character. He's already pure, already perfect, and I can't do anything to make Him more pure and perfect. However, if He is transforming me into His image, I can live a life that displays something of His character, and so reflect His glory for others to see.
Third, "glory" is used for God's standing or value in people's eyes. For example, Jeremiah 13:11 says, "'For as the waistband clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole household of Israel and the whole household of Judah cling to Me', declares the Lord, 'that they might be for Me a people for renown, for praise, and for glory, but they did not listen.'"
I can try to glorify God in this way by encouraging others to hold Him in high esteem. Even if others don't respond, I certainly can glorify God by giving Him high standing in my own eyes, whether or not anyone else notices or approves.
And, we bring glory to God by living our lives God’s way and living out the purposes He has for our lives which are worship, fellowship, discipleship, mission and evangelism. This is because in doing these things we point to the greatness of God. We are commanded to recognise His glory, honour His glory, declare His glory, praise His glory, reflect His glory and live for His glory. The reason to bring glory to God is because He deserves it...
Basically, I think that it is in using our passions, interest and abilities to serve do we actually bring glory to God. But, then, the question begs, so what is Christian service? I believe that there are a number of aspects in this. Firstly, there is displaying Christ-likeness when going about our daily lives such as at work. Serve with our abilities in a way that shows Christ likeness which points to God’s glory, coz while we were still sinners Christ died for us, so we want to be Christ like to be with Christ and we can’t return to our old selves. Next, it is to share Christ with others whenever we have an opportunity at work. We can bring others to Christ and. Also, our work is part of a role to play in the body of Christ and also the new life that we have in Christ is one where we have the love of Christ in our hearts and we have a heart for the needs of people around us whether Christian or non-Christian. This is because our old selves that doomed to eternal death was one without unconditional and selfless love, but we were saved and given a new life in Christ which is one of love. And, finally, by using the abilities God has given us, we bring glory to God when we acknowledge it is Christ who has gives us the strength and by giving thanks to God for our achievements. The article something to live for and it means doing what God wants, living life God’s way.
And, as for how the five purposes can bring glory to God:
· Worship is a lifestyle of enjoying God, loving Him, and giving ourselves to Him. And, God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.
· As God has loved us, so we must love one another, and by this will all men know that we are God’s disciples. Thus, it brings glory to God.
· Becoming like Christ brings glory to God because as the spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him and reflect His glory even more.
· Serving others with our gifts brings glory to God because when we help others with the strength and energy that God supplies then God is given the glory.
· Sharing about Christ brings glory to God because as God’s grace brings more and more people to Christ, ...God will receive more and more glory.
And, God is so glorious that He deserves all glory, honour and power. This also means we give our best to God in glorifying Him because God is so great that we want to glorify Him to the best of our abilities. Also, since we know our purpose of our lives are to glorify God, don’t we want to give our best, and it brings glory to God when we live to our full potential coz only then are we who God wants us to be. We are given abilities for the purpose of serving god to bring Him glory, so we do our best for God. Our passion is given by God for a reason, so that we do our best in our passion and achieve perfection and bring glory to God. And, in our victory and successes our glory goes to God...
As for another issue that I’ve been thinking about, it’s regarding forgiveness, trust and reconciliation. We all need mercy coz we all stumble and fall and require getting back on track. We need to offer mercy to each other. God says when people sin, you should forgive and comfort them, so they won’t give up in despair. We should never hold grudges because bitterness and resentment destroy fellowship. We are imperfect and inevitably hurt each other, and it takes mercy and grace to maintain fellowship. God’s mercy to us is motivation for showing mercy to others. There is a difference between trust and forgiveness. Forgiveness is letting go of the past while trust has to do with future behaviour. Forgiveness is immediate while trust is built over time. And, as much as possible we should work things out and find a resolution but if we really can’t because of differing opinions and I stress here opinion which is different from right and wrong, at least seek reconciliation.
This brings me nicely to the next issue of right and wrong, personal choice and hospitality. I mean sure we all have a choice in life whether we do right or wrong or whatever, and sure we can’t control everyone and we can’t expect the whole world to comply and change the way we want them to. But, really I ask this question, do we really have a choice? I mean yes technically we all have a choice, however, since there is only one way, that is Jesus, can we really say we have a choice? Then, this takes us to another issue and that is hospitality, and the issue of loving the sinner but hating the sin. The thing is that we should love everyone regardless of who they are, but we cannot tolerate it if someone does something wrong and if whatever we do in any way seems to condone such things, we have distance ourselves from that.
To end, now I think I know how each of the different purposes for our lives as God has ordained actually does bring glory to God. And, really our state of mind that says glory to God does make everything we do have meaning as we do the things we do as unto God, but also the very things we do can have a practical link to glorifying God. And, I’ve learned that God’s glory is truly the real motivation to do our best in all that we do because God deserves our best for all He has done for us. Furthermore, we should forgive one another just as Christ forgave us and love one another. And, truly there is only one way, Jesus...God’s glory is the reason for everything, and we bring glory to God by living life God’s way...all glory to God.
To begin to answer this question we need to know what God’s glory is.
What is God's glory?
First, it is used for God's physical radiance. For example, Exodus 24:16, 17 says,
"And the glory of the Lord rested on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. And to the eyes of the sons of Israel the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a consuming fire on the mountain top."
Of course, it is impossible for me to glorify God in this way, because nothing I can do will add anything to His physical radiance. Even if I strap an atom bomb to my chest and detonate it, that burst of the bomb's radiance, no matter how brilliant, would not add to God's radiance at all.
Second, "glory" is used for God's character, for His moral purity and perfection. For example, Romans 3:23 says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Again, I cannot glorify God in this way, because nothing I do can make God more morally perfect or improve the purity of His character. He's already pure, already perfect, and I can't do anything to make Him more pure and perfect. However, if He is transforming me into His image, I can live a life that displays something of His character, and so reflect His glory for others to see.
Third, "glory" is used for God's standing or value in people's eyes. For example, Jeremiah 13:11 says, "'For as the waistband clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole household of Israel and the whole household of Judah cling to Me', declares the Lord, 'that they might be for Me a people for renown, for praise, and for glory, but they did not listen.'"
I can try to glorify God in this way by encouraging others to hold Him in high esteem. Even if others don't respond, I certainly can glorify God by giving Him high standing in my own eyes, whether or not anyone else notices or approves.
And, we bring glory to God by living our lives God’s way and living out the purposes He has for our lives which are worship, fellowship, discipleship, mission and evangelism. This is because in doing these things we point to the greatness of God. We are commanded to recognise His glory, honour His glory, declare His glory, praise His glory, reflect His glory and live for His glory. The reason to bring glory to God is because He deserves it...
Basically, I think that it is in using our passions, interest and abilities to serve do we actually bring glory to God. But, then, the question begs, so what is Christian service? I believe that there are a number of aspects in this. Firstly, there is displaying Christ-likeness when going about our daily lives such as at work. Serve with our abilities in a way that shows Christ likeness which points to God’s glory, coz while we were still sinners Christ died for us, so we want to be Christ like to be with Christ and we can’t return to our old selves. Next, it is to share Christ with others whenever we have an opportunity at work. We can bring others to Christ and. Also, our work is part of a role to play in the body of Christ and also the new life that we have in Christ is one where we have the love of Christ in our hearts and we have a heart for the needs of people around us whether Christian or non-Christian. This is because our old selves that doomed to eternal death was one without unconditional and selfless love, but we were saved and given a new life in Christ which is one of love. And, finally, by using the abilities God has given us, we bring glory to God when we acknowledge it is Christ who has gives us the strength and by giving thanks to God for our achievements. The article something to live for and it means doing what God wants, living life God’s way.
And, as for how the five purposes can bring glory to God:
· Worship is a lifestyle of enjoying God, loving Him, and giving ourselves to Him. And, God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.
· As God has loved us, so we must love one another, and by this will all men know that we are God’s disciples. Thus, it brings glory to God.
· Becoming like Christ brings glory to God because as the spirit of the Lord works within us, we become more and more like Him and reflect His glory even more.
· Serving others with our gifts brings glory to God because when we help others with the strength and energy that God supplies then God is given the glory.
· Sharing about Christ brings glory to God because as God’s grace brings more and more people to Christ, ...God will receive more and more glory.
And, God is so glorious that He deserves all glory, honour and power. This also means we give our best to God in glorifying Him because God is so great that we want to glorify Him to the best of our abilities. Also, since we know our purpose of our lives are to glorify God, don’t we want to give our best, and it brings glory to God when we live to our full potential coz only then are we who God wants us to be. We are given abilities for the purpose of serving god to bring Him glory, so we do our best for God. Our passion is given by God for a reason, so that we do our best in our passion and achieve perfection and bring glory to God. And, in our victory and successes our glory goes to God...
As for another issue that I’ve been thinking about, it’s regarding forgiveness, trust and reconciliation. We all need mercy coz we all stumble and fall and require getting back on track. We need to offer mercy to each other. God says when people sin, you should forgive and comfort them, so they won’t give up in despair. We should never hold grudges because bitterness and resentment destroy fellowship. We are imperfect and inevitably hurt each other, and it takes mercy and grace to maintain fellowship. God’s mercy to us is motivation for showing mercy to others. There is a difference between trust and forgiveness. Forgiveness is letting go of the past while trust has to do with future behaviour. Forgiveness is immediate while trust is built over time. And, as much as possible we should work things out and find a resolution but if we really can’t because of differing opinions and I stress here opinion which is different from right and wrong, at least seek reconciliation.
This brings me nicely to the next issue of right and wrong, personal choice and hospitality. I mean sure we all have a choice in life whether we do right or wrong or whatever, and sure we can’t control everyone and we can’t expect the whole world to comply and change the way we want them to. But, really I ask this question, do we really have a choice? I mean yes technically we all have a choice, however, since there is only one way, that is Jesus, can we really say we have a choice? Then, this takes us to another issue and that is hospitality, and the issue of loving the sinner but hating the sin. The thing is that we should love everyone regardless of who they are, but we cannot tolerate it if someone does something wrong and if whatever we do in any way seems to condone such things, we have distance ourselves from that.
To end, now I think I know how each of the different purposes for our lives as God has ordained actually does bring glory to God. And, really our state of mind that says glory to God does make everything we do have meaning as we do the things we do as unto God, but also the very things we do can have a practical link to glorifying God. And, I’ve learned that God’s glory is truly the real motivation to do our best in all that we do because God deserves our best for all He has done for us. Furthermore, we should forgive one another just as Christ forgave us and love one another. And, truly there is only one way, Jesus...God’s glory is the reason for everything, and we bring glory to God by living life God’s way...all glory to God.
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