For His Glory

We have been put here on this earth for one purpose: to display the glory of God to the world.  There are many mediums by which we can do this but in the end that is our sole purpose as followers of Christ.  God's glory has become a greater focus in my life recently.  I owe part of this to a man by the name of John Piper.  There are those who might shake their heads and say, "There goes another Piper fanatic," but I believe he is one of the great theologians of our time who will be mentioned along side many great names who have come to pass.  John Piper knows what God's glory is and has helped me see the greater picture of it through his sermons and books.  Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 10 has stuck with me since this past spring.  It is a reoccurring theme that I cannot ignore or forget.  Why?  Because as I said, it is out purpose in life.  Piper said at Passion'06, the universe was created to display the greatness of the glory of God's grace.  I agree wholeheartedly with him.

Doing all that we do for the glory of God is probably one of the most difficult things we can attempt to do here on earth because we will fail daily at it.  My biggest struggle with this is a selfish one.  When we seek to do this we have to get down to the grit of our lives that don't glorify Him.  Most people would simply say, "It's not a big deal."  How wrong is that answer.  God's glory is the biggest deal.  Everything we do either points to it or from it.  Many people would view this as being a fundamentalist but would anyone dare say that glorifying God is being fundamental?  I think not.  Jesus glorified God in all that He did.  Why shouldn't we?  "Well Jesus was God in the flesh.  It could not have been as hard for Him."  Once again I beg to differ.  Although Jesus was God in the flesh, He was a man nonetheless.  He had bumps and bruises; he probably skinned His knees up as a boy running through town.  He prayed in the garden that God would take the cup from Him but submitted to the Father's will and said, "Not my will, but yours be done."  He felt every flogging, every thorn in His brow, and every splinter in His back.  Jesus said in Matthew 5:48, "You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect."  We can never reach perfection here on earth but we are called to be perfect despite our imperfections.  To be perfect would be to glorify God in all that you do.  

"So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all for the glory of God." I don't believe Paul leaves much room for interpretation for us. "Do all for the glory of God."