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One of the formal statements of the early church is this: "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever." That statement is short and to the point but if we stop to think about it that approach to life is not only Biblical it is profoundly practical. Let me give some examples.
David's life included times of peace and tranquility in his comfort zones such as in the shepherd's field or at his father's house, and he praised God and wrote music for Him there. But he also had times of turmoil when he had to leave his comfortable place such as when he, as a teenage shepherd boy, had to pick up a leather strap and some rocks and march into the valley of the shadow of death to confront a professional soldier. Even there, he was close to his God, aware of His presence, and trusting in His protection and grace, and doing what he knew would glorify his God in his life.
Paul, too, had his times of glory (lifted into the third heaven) as well as of discouragement (shipwrecks, cold, loneliness, hunted by those who would kill him, abandoned by those whom he trusted) and yet he said "I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." [Philippians 4:11]. In resting in God's provision for his needs, Paul was exercising faith, without which, it is impossible to please God [Hebrews 11:6].
Part of a father's job and delight is to direct his children to glorify God. I realize that the troubles of the past several years has knocked that purpose somewhat out of focus but it is still my delight to encourage you, my dear children, to concentrate on making God the center of your life.
I heard Bible teacher Harold McKay speak once on the Seven Letters to the Seven Churches in the book of Revelation, chapters 2-3. In speaking on the church of the Ephesians [chapter 2:1-7] he quoted Paul's earlier admonition to them where he wanted them to be "able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge." [Ephesians 3:18-19]. Brother McKay then went on to point out that the only place that you can be to get a personal sense of all four of those dimensions is in the center of God's love. He also related a story of seeing a horse-drawn wagon on which the wheels had become worn and wobbly; he said that the wagon would lean to one side and then jerk over to the other side and that it just wobbled this way and that as it was pulled down the lane. He said that is what the life of a believer is like unless Christ is at the center.
It is important that I be very clear here; I am not talking about the unrealistic approach of thinking that we will never fail. Rather, I am speaking of the Biblical approach of deliberately walking in His ways and bowing meekly before Him knowing that He will never instruct us to walk in a way that is not best for us.
Earlier today I was listening to Kelli Reisen's CD entitled Someday. One thing that encourages me is that someday The Father will wipe away all tears. For now, there will be some, and until that day whether in tears or joy, whether in struggle or in rest, our responsibility is to stay focused on The Lord and be faithful to Him and His revealed word.
This may sound somewhat impractical but I draw your attention to something that often escapes us. The wicked one has convinced many in our day - and in all generations before us - that the purpose of life is to get and enjoy. That philosophy contradicts God who tells us that the purpose is to give and glorify. That all sounds like nice, Sunday school platitudes until we remember this, and if you only hear one thing that I say in this life, dear children, please hear this. Life is not our real dwelling place; it is a very brief final exam that we must take before we graduate to the real dwelling place. That is important enough that I want to repeat it. Life is not our real dwelling place; it is a very brief final exam that we must take before we graduate to the real dwelling place. During that exam we demonstrate to God that we trust Him or we demonstrate that we don't. We tell Him that we will listen to His Word or we tell Him that we know better than He does. How we do on the exam does not determine our salvation; that is settled by grace, through faith [Ephesians 2:8-10]. If we are truly believers, however, it does determine our success in this life [Joshua 1:8] and our reward in the next [1 Corinthians 3:8 & 14, Colossians 3:24, Hebrews 10:35, 2 John 1:8, Revelation 22:12].
There is nothing wrong with having 'stuff' and doing things but to take the exam successfully we must stay focused on the goal of life. That goal is to glorify The True and Living God, Who made us and all other things, and to become like Him by yielding to His instructions [His Word] by faith. The Lord Jesus Christ was a giver, not a taker; Jesus tells us that the only way a person can become like Him is to "deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me." [Luke 9:23]
Paul put it this way; "Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." [Philippians 3:13-14]. A more recent poet gave a similar thought, "Only one life, 'twill soon be past. Only what's done for Christ will last."
Life may seem long to you, children, but you can take it from me, the more of it you live the more you realize how fragile it is and how quickly it flows. I plead with you that you won't let the wicked one trick you into thinking that you should wait before you start focusing on your exam. In reality, the whole of life is a sprint - a home stretch. The time is now. Press toward that mark of obedience and conformity to the image of His Son: nothing else is worthy of Him or of you and nothing else will truly satisfy the longing of your heart.
To quote an old hymn, "Give of your best to The Master" dear children. In always doing so, you will eliminate regrets in the future and increase your faith for eternity.
Love forever,
Dad |
