What is your purpose in life? What is the
central goal of your existence? There is an old catechism that says “the chief
end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” Sadly, this simple summary
of Biblical truth has been lost in American Consumeristic Christianity. The
average person sitting in the pew has either forgotten, or never been taught
that everything exists to bring glory to God. In this unashamedly self-centered
society, a preacher with godly integrity must regularly remind his hearers that
the worship service isn’t all about them; rather it is about God. In the
decision making processes of life, the Glory of God has become a secondary
issue, rather than our primary motivation. Each of us need to spend some time
meditating on the privilege that is ours to bring glory to our Creator.
In Isaiah 42:8 God speaks and says: “I am the LORD: that
is my name: and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven
images.” God will not allow His children to bow at the feet of idols. He will
not allow His glory to be shared or His reputation to be sullied. God takes His
glory serious, and so should we.
The God revealed
to us in Holy Writ is unmatched in beauty. A God of brilliant grandeur who is
magnificent, majestic, and unparalleled in splendor. God is intrinsically
glorious. We ascribe glory to God, but we can’t make God glorious, He
is glorious all by Himself. Men may deny Him, despise Him, or even blaspheme Him,
but this doesn’t change Him, He is immutably glorious.
Think about this –
if every man on earth was born blind, would that detract from the brilliance of
the sun? No, in no wise. Neither does the depraved conduct of men detract from
the glory of God, He is inherently glorious. This glorious God is worthy of all
praise, all honor, all glory! Time and again the Bible demands that we give
unto the Lord the glory due His name. God is jealous over His glory. This is
not some twisted envy, some covetous green-eyed monster but as the Supreme
Sovereign of the Universe, He has the divine right to reverence His own name,
above all other gods. In Isaiah 48:11 we read that God will always and only
conduct Himself in a way that brings honor to His own name. Everything that God
does, He does first and foremost for His own glory. “For my own sake, even for
my own sake” the Text reads, “will I do this.”
We can depend on
God to be God, and as such He will be gracious, kind, loving, and judicious.
But let us also be clear, that everything God does, He does to honor His own name.
Notice these
verses:
Proverbs 16:4 The LORD
hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.
Colossians 1:16 For by him were all things created,
that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they
be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created
by him, and for him:
God’s primary motivation
is His own Glory. We are the secondary beneficiaries of God’s goodness, but God
does what He does, first and foremost, for His own Glory.
If God’s glory is
this important to Him, it ought well to be vitally important to us. 1 Corinthians 10:31 “Whether therefore ye eat, or
drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” Can you not see the
difficulty this instruction brings? It goes against our nature. Our natural
inclination is to bring glory to ourselves, thereby robbing God of the glory
that is due His name. Yet the commands remains; everything we do, is to bring
glory to God. Our homes, our lives, our decisions, our churches should all have
one purpose, one motive, one incentive – to bring God glory. In so doing, we fulfill the role for which we
are created and only then do we find true contentment. It is Savior that
satisfies, not self. May the anthem of every believer be “To God be the glory,
great things He hath done!”
All of heaven will be focused around worshiping this
Glorious Triune God.
Lewis Kiger is the pastor of the Memorial Heights Baptist Church, in Perry GA.
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