Category: Enjoying God

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The Self-Centered God

“For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” (Romans 11:36). In past entries, I have addressed what I think it means that all things are from God and through God. Today, I will attempt to unpack what it means that all things are to Him.

Over many years of leading and serving in worship ministry, I have heard numerous descriptions and analogies of what takes place in the worship of God: giving to God; offering ourselves to God; reflecting His glory; we are fulfilling the command to worship; we are performing for the audience of One; bringing glory to God. And there are many more. These ideas can be helpful as we think through how we should worship God.

When we think of something being “to” someone, we often think of giving or offering something to them, whether it is a gift or something that we owe to them. However, when we try to apply this to God, we need to be cautious, because there are aspects related to bringing or giving that may apply to us as humans, but cannot apply to God. The earlier verses in Romans 11:33-35 make it clear that we cannot give counsel or gifts to God that either increase His knowledge or possessions. All wisdom and knowledge are His. The earth and the universe are His. He lacks nothing. So, our worship does not add anything to God. Anything we bring to God is already His.

So, what is the purpose of our worship? Scripture is full of commands to worship the Lord, bring offerings, and even offer ourselves as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1-2). There must be a reason that we worship, other than just requiring us to do this act out of obedience. And there is.

God’s purpose for worship, and all of life, is His glory. Everything, including our lives, exists for the purpose of bringing glory to God. All things are to Him. When God creates, it is for His glory. When He reveals Himself to us, it is for His glory. When He provides for us, it is for His glory. When He saves, it is for His glory. When He judges, it is for His glory. When he raises up or brings down individuals, groups, or nations, it is for His glory. When Christ came, suffered, and bore the penalty for all sin, it was for God’s glory. When Christ rose, it was for His glory. When Christ returns, it will be for His glory. All things exist to bring glory to the Almighty God. And He will not give or share His glory with anyone or anything (Isaiah 48:9-11).

All things are to Him. All things are for Him. All things were created and intended by God to bring glory to God. For many of us, this is hard to swallow. This seems highly self-centered. That is because it is. For us, it would be sin. For God, it is perfectly acceptable. In fact, it is the most loving thing He can do for His creation.

Where is the highest joy found? Our highest joy is found in God through Christ. Any other person, possession, or aspiration will fall short of bringing the joy that can be found in Christ. Therefore, the greatest thing that God can do for us is to glorify Himself and the work He has done. As we see the indescribable wonders of Who He is and the heights and depths to which He has gone to purchase our salvation, what greater joy could be found in anything else in life?

God is jealous for His glory. He is also jealous for His people. He knows that anything less than His glory is robbing us of our greatest joy. Therefore, as we come to God in worship and as we conduct our times of worship together, we should give serious consideration to where we place our focus. Worship is for the purpose of glorifying God. When the focus shifts from God and His works to the abilities, performances, or preferences of the leaders or those in attendance, we are seeking to share or steal God’s glory, whether that is our specific intent or not. We should always be mindful of why we are doing something – are we seeking to glorify God or are we just serving and glorifying ourselves?

When my focus becomes being noticed or recognized for anything that I am doing in the worship service or the ministry of the church, I am stealing God’s glory. When I am pressing hard on some issue, I need to seriously ask myself whether this glorifies God or am I just trying to get my own way. Pride and selfishness can be deadly in relationships. It has destroyed many families and churches. God abhors it when it comes to His glory, His church, and His people. As I look back over the years, distant and recent, I wonder how many times I have glorified myself instead of my glorious Savior. As we live our lives and work together in the church, it is important to keep the glory of God before us at all times.

Thankfully, God is gracious. He is forgiving. His mercies are new every morning. He holds His glory up as a wonderful aspiration. As followers of Christ, we have the awesome privilege of declaring the glory of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We testify to what God has done in our lives through Christ. We get to make God look great! That is what it means to glorify someone. It does not mean that we make Him look bigger than He is. It does not mean that we have anything to add to Who He is or what He has done. We just get to reflect His wonderful work in our lives, as He transforms us into the image of Christ.

We glorify God when we find our greatest joy and treasure in Him. It is why we were created. God knows there is nothing else in life that can bring us this kind of satisfaction. That is why He glorifies Himself. Everything else is a cheap substitute and robs us of the peace and joy of God. It can be ours throughout life’s journeys, joys, and trials. Though we will stumble and fall, He will pick us up and sustain us. As we draw near and glorify Him, He will feed and serve us, providing for our every need. He will teach and strengthen us, giving us a deeper understanding of Who is. And we, in turn, will glorify Him. And so it continues, as God continues to show us that He is our all in all, and that there can be no greater joy than knowing Him in Christ.

Together for His glory…

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We Were Made for This

The alarm goes off. My arm quickly moves to shut off the annoying noise. I sigh (or groan). Why does morning come so early? My mind turns to what is next (if I stay awake). Depending on the day of the week, there are different levels of anticipation or lack thereof. So, I swing my stiff and crackling body out of bed and start moving toward the first task. I usually wake up pretty groggy, not overwhelmed with eagerness and expectation. As my day progresses, I find that I can frequently navigate the day without a much intentionality or purpose. That is not to say that I don’t strive to do my tasks well or set a good example. Nevertheless, I can just go methodically through the day, checking things off my list and dealing with things as they come. My focus can easily become getting through the day and not on the purpose for the day that I have been given. Can you relate at all?

Did you know that you and I were made with a purpose? We are not just random results of chance or human reproduction. We were created with purpose and each day that we are given comes with a purpose. The Westminster Shorter Catechism summarizes this purpose in the response to the question, “What is the chief end of man?” The answer: “to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” This answer is based on continuous references throughout Scripture. I have included just a few here. “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” (Rev. 4:11). “For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.” (Rom. 11:36). “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Ps. 16:11).

We have been created for the glory of God and in His presence is fullness of joy – not just a little joy, but fullness, richness, and completeness of joy. This means that each day I open my eyes, I have a purpose – to glorify God and to enjoy God. Whatever else is on my list for the day is secondary to this. Whatever else is on my agenda should flow through and out of this purpose. I have heard the statement before that someone “was so heavenly minded that they were no earthly good.” Personally, I think this statement is neither Biblical nor true. For when we become heavenly minded, with our heart and mind set on God and His work in our lives, it is only then that all of the rest of our lives can truly come into proper focus (Col. 3:1-4). Our lives and daily tasks become a life of worship (Rom. 12:1-2) and as a result, we find joy in God.

This does not mean that life does not come with challenges, hardships, and sorrows. However, amidst these, we can continue to live a life of worship as we seek to bring glory to God and receive joy from Him. This is truly a gift and only possible by the hand of God, through life in Jesus Christ. As we focus our gaze on the wonder of Christ and yield to His work in our lives by the Holy Spirit, God will transform us day by day. As we sink our roots deep into Christ and the Word of God, our desires will become more like His and we will not be satisfied so often with cheap imitations offered by the world. We will hunger more for things that are eternal.

As it is, I find that I am often satisfied with less than what God has offered to me. C.S. Lewis put it this way. “Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased” (The Weight of Glory, 1942).

This will be a constant struggle, but the battle is worth it. Let’s not be so easily pleased. Let’s hold fast to our hope in Christ and continue to spur one another on to love and good works (Hebrews 10:23-25). May we pursue lives of worship, finding satisfaction in our God as we glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. It was for this that we were created.

Together for His glory…