If the purpose of man is to bring glory to God in the way we live our lives, our mission as believers should be to find ways to infuse His Glory into our relationships and activities. What are some specific ways the people of God bring God glory in our actions and activities?
Too often, we seek to live independent of God’s power and authority in our lives; yet Jesus said in John 15:5, “Without me ye can do nothing.” Sadly, our independent spirit is often in direct opposition to a humble dependence on the
Spirit of God acting through the word of God to direct our steps. If we are to bring glory to God, we need to see that we don’t actually add anything to who God is, as He is already perfect in glory. Rather, that we proclaim the nature of God as glorious to those who don’t know Him. The church accomplishes this by evangelizing the lost, edifying the believers, and worshiping God. We can summarize these activities in three words: Proclaim, Build, Worship.
Proclaim
Our sin has offended a holy and righteous God, and unless we humbly come to the realization of this fact, we are dead to God. But God, in His love and mercy, sent Jesus to die on the cross as a substitute for punishment of individuals’ sins. Just as He rose from the dead, the risen Savior offers new life and acceptance into the family of God for all who will believe in Jesus. This is the life giving message of the gospel that should encompass all that we do.
When someone comes to a place where they see Jesus’ offer to forgive their sins and the invitation to enter into relationship with him, the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” He gives us purpose and meaning in life. Often, the Church sends out missionaries who are willing to take this good news that Jesus wants to forgive man’s sins, and invite individuals into His family. So a missionary is someone whose “mission” in life is to proclaim how Jesus has changed their life. Sometimes these men and women travel to different countries where people have never heard the name of Jesus, while other times missionaries take this life changing message to the people who live near them.
Build
Another major way that we bring glory to God is by edifying, or building up the believers in their faith. The Bible says that the older men and women are to take the younger men and women and teach them how to live lives that are pleasing to God. We are to teach them to learn what the Bible teaches about who God is and how we can be more like Him. As a community of believers, we are to encourage one another, fellowship with one another, share burdens, exhort, and sometimes correct one another. As the body of Christ, we are to work together so each of us grows to a place of maturity in Christ. Jesus desires that His Church would be known for our love to God and our love for one another.
Worship
Our Churches should also be places where we can sing and worship our Creator God. We are to worship God in spirit and in truth. Ephesians 5:19-20 says, “Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” We are to celebrate the new life we have in God’s family and publicly proclaim the goodness of God and His glory.
Perhaps we as believers need to ask God to search our lives, and to see if we are proclaiming, building, and worshiping God in such a way as to bring him glory. Each of our relationships should include these activities to put the glory of God on exhibition for the people around us. As we come in contact with fathers, mothers, children, siblings, grandfathers, grandmothers, aunts, uncles, teachers and students, friends, peers at work, neighbors, and strangers, these individuals should be seen as divine appointments and opportunities that God has given us to either proclaim, build, or to whom we might worship God together with. We also need to ask God if the activities we engage in also need to be redeemed. In what ways can our activities better proclaim the glory of God?
Christian education offers many opportunities for us to proclaim the truth of who God is, build these young boys and girls into the men and women God desires them to become, and to teach them how to worship God in spirit and truth. Increasingly our culture and society is becoming hostile to the truth of God’s Word and those who claim to be in Jesus. It is imperative that we teach the next generation how to live in a world that Jesus has said will hate us. Christian education allows teachers to academically prepare students to meet the challenges of our modern society, while instilling in them the foundation of
God’s Word that will allow them to navigate life. It also allows teachers to pour into students outside the classroom through the avenues of athletics, fine arts, and extracurricular activities. Teachers strive to give students a safe environment in which they can learn and develop into the men and women God designed
them to be in relation to who God is. While it is not essential that a Christian have a Christian education, it can be a powerful tool to aid parents in the spiritual and academic development of their children.
In summary we should evaluate our lives, specifically our relationships and our activities and determine if we could better bring God glory in the ways we proclaim, build and worship.
Written by Sean Walker, BBCS HS Science Teacher
Comments