We are not the main characters of our own lives. It is easy to think that our lives revolve around us—that our purpose is to somehow make something of our lives for ourselves in some way. We are plopped on the earth and live here for a short while, our lives are mist, here one second gone the next, and yet we think we are main characters. Think of how many people have lived and will live, and how many of them are now completely forgotten besides perhaps a line of recognition in a census that no one will read. Now think of the timeline of the universe, how long it has been around, and how long you have been around. Are we so arrogant to assume our lives have no greater purpose than to please ourselves? “Anyone who chooses to do the will of God will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. Whoever speaks on their own does so to gain personal glory, but he who seeks the glory of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.” John 7:17-18 Jesus sought to bring glory to God in everything He did. And so if we are called to be like Jesus, it must follow that our purpose is similar: to bring glory to God. God is the main character of all our lives, and we live to praise Him. We were created by Him and for Him. We are not our own, but we were bought at a price. You’ve probably heard these things said before, but have you taken a second to consider what they really mean? To me, they mean that I am not my own. Every decision I make and everything I have to offer—my time, talents, money, relationships, education, belongings—belong not to me but to the One who created me. And to His authority I submit myself. Even if He were to shake up my entire life and take away everything I loved, my purpose wouldn’t change. How could I point a finger at Him and say, “How could You do this to me?” when I know that the things I have were never mine to begin with and that He is with me, so what more do I need? As [Jesus] went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” John 9:1-3 Think of this story from a worldly perspective. They will say, “How cruel it is to force a man to suffer blindness for the entirety of his life just so that there may be an opportunity for a miracle to be done through him.” Now think of it as God being the main character. Our purpose is to glorify Him, and this blind man was given the opportunity to take part in Jesus glorifying Him! How lucky is this guy! Seriously, think about it. God used this man in a way that many were brought to believe in Jesus, and he himself received sight! If he had been able to see his whole life, he would have missed out on being a part of this amazing glorification of God. The same goes for a man like Job, who lost next to everything and himself was tortured with painful sores among other trials. But by persevering through it all and continuing to praise God, he did what he was put on the earth to do, and God blessed him all the more for it. “Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in [Jesus]. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human praise more than praise from God.” John 12:42-43 People like Job and the blind man were given praise from God. For most of us, though, we crave human praise. It is easy to think that we could persevere through any suffering for God’s glory, but when it comes down to it, human praise is a lot louder and a lot easier to obtain. Job himself was told to curse God by his wife. His friends were no good either. And surely when he was covered in painful sores, so much so that his friends couldn’t even recognize him, there was no human praise in his looks (a human praise many of us seek to obtain). But through all this, Job continued to praise God.
Human praise is nice for a little while. It feels good to be loved and adored by people you see often. But then you’ll die, and you’ll stand before God, and your human praise will not save you on that day. Why give up eternity for what lasts as long as a snap of your fingers?
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AuthorFighting complacency and advocating change in myself for the world around me. Posts by Date
February 2019
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