Day Seven: Finally, Some Purpose

And now I’m back! (From outer space.) I used up two of my three days off, if I want to finish the book by Easter. (I was making this website for my friend, Taryn.) But it’s a good chapter to come back on! Today, we talk about “The Reason for Everything.” (And here’s another sentence in parentheses.)

“It’s all for him.”

Oh! Well, that’s all I need to know, I guess. Good blog, everyone! See you tomorrow! …But seriously, folks.

This, of course, is one of the tenets of the Christian faith: that we exist in order to bring glory to God. So then, what is God’s glory, and how can I bring it? To Him? Bring more of it to Him? Or whatever? I obviously could have worded that better. We’re on a time frame, people, no editing allowed. I’m gonna get this done by 11pm.

So, Rick’s answer to the first question is that God’s glory is who He is. Or maybe the expression of who He is. His nature and character, et cetera. And I guess I can buy that. He doesn’t quote any scripture to back that up, but it kind of makes sense. My first instinct would be to use the usual definition of glory, even here: His awesomeness, His power, His majesty, His radiance. But how does one express those things? Rick’s general answer might be, “by acting according to His nature.” (Of course he gives five specific answers in a moment.) Again, my first instinct would be to say something along the lines of, “by testifying to his power, majesty, radiance, etc.” But that is probably too narrow–being children of God, we testify to His glory when we act in accordance with His character. Actions speak louder than words, after all.

In answering the how question, Rick quotes Jesus from John 17:4:

“I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” (NIV)

In other words, we bring glory to God when we fulfill our purpose. (But I thought our purpose was to bring glory to God? Ow, my head.) But then he gets more specific. According to Mr. Warren, we bring God glory by:

Worshiping him.

By loving Him, enjoying His presence, sacrificing ourselves for Him. This one is my favorite. There is nothing better than enjoying the presence of God. But I still have a lot of room to grow when it comes to sacrificing myself for Him. I am very jealous of my time. God, help me to sacrifice my time as an act of worship for You. Help me to see every thing that I do as sacrificial worship for Your glory.

Loving other believers.

We are all brothers and sisters in Christ, and members of His body. To love each other is to love God. This one is difficult for me, because I am not quite sure what it means. He touches on being a servant later, but without service, what is love? I love all of my brothers in sisters in Christ, but do I really love them? Enough to lay down my life for them? This is something to think about, when I am fellowshipping with other believers.

Becoming like Christ.

Becoming “spiritually mature” in God, by “becoming like Jesus in the way we think, feel, and act.” WWJD? And think, and feel. That’s actually a good point–I think that people spend a disproportionate amount of time thinking about how Jesus would act, and not as much thinking about what He would think and feel. Those are, after all, just as important as what He did. I guess it’s just natural for us as humans to focus on the visible rather than the invisible. It goes without saying that, in all three areas, I could use some improvement. It will be helpful to think of aligning my thoughts and feelings (in addition to my actions) with Christ’s.

Serving others with our gifts.

I don’t have a servant’s heart. Well, okay, I take that back. I have a hard time serving when it involves a lot of physical effort, but if it’s on the computer? No problem. I think mostly this has to do with 1) being lazy, 2) being lazy, and 3) being very selfish with my time. Maybe I need to think of this in different terms, though. I love serving when it involves my gifts (those being singing and programming). I am not amenable to serving when it involves labor. Is that bad? Sometimes I feel guilty about this, and I want someone to tell me that it’s okay.

Telling others about him.

This is the easy answer, right? It’s the one I came up with by default. And one of the ones that I am worst at. I get so embarrassed to claim my God and mention Him in everyday conversation. This is something I am improving on, but I have a long road ahead of me. God, make me not ashamed to shout Your name and sing Your praise, no matter where I am or who is watching.

So, there you have it. Those are the five things I have to do. Worship God, love others, think/feel/act like Christ, serve others (with my gifts), and tell others about God. Think I can do it?