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The Westminster Catechism states
that the highest purpose of man is to “Glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” A lofty pursuit to be sure and one that is
worthy of my life’s pursuit. However,
within the gargantuan scope of such a statement, there are some natural
pitfalls.
I am a created being and He is,
as Isaiah said, Lord of hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim,
alone God of all the kingdoms of the earth and creator of everything in
existence (Is. 37:16). That is quite a resume. Could I write a song that would capture His
essence? What piece of literature could
I produce to further His fame or what deed could be done that would actually
make Him look better?
When we minimize God’s greatness
in any way, the natural result is to elevate our own and to believe that our
contribution to Him comes from our hands.
That is how some believers interpret the goal of “glorifying God.” They seek to do things that will, in other
people’s eyes, make Him look good.
Rubbish.
I do not want to shine my glory
onto God. That would only ever glorify
me. I want Him to glorify Himself in me. When that happens, the world will not see a
terribly competent and ... ruggedly handsome individual who simply thanks Jesus
after making the touchdown. They will
see a broken man made whole by something supernatural. They will see a Moses, who has trouble
speaking, leading millions. They will
see an uneducated Peter teaching the intellectual elite. They will see a boy with a sling bring down a
giant.
No one would say that any of
those heroes of the faith did those amazing things by their own power. Yet, more often than not, we fake our
Christian walk and the fruit of the Spirit by trying to achieve them in our own
fleshly effort. That will never glorify
God!
The only way we, the creatures,
will ever glorify Him, our creator, is to yield ourselves completely to Him and
seek to know and love Him more. When we
put our effort into the daily pursuit of His person, we will be changed. All of that righteousness and sanctification
that we spent years trying to manufacture will just grow. All of those sins we tried so desperately to
stop doing, will begin to pale in the heavenly light.
This song is a simple reminder
to my own heart that He is worthy of my yielded life and in that moldable state
He can glorify Himself through me in whatever way He chooses. It’s not about what I have to offer Him, but
what He is more than willing and able to do in me.
1 Peter
4:10-11 “As each has received a gift,
use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of
God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in
order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.”
Let
Your Glory Shine In Me
Open up the gates of Praise
and let a song flow forth that’s new
Let the Son melt this winter’s cold
and let my heart cry out to You
It’s
been so long since I’ve loved
with a reckless heart
But Your love abandoned all,
Yeah it didn’t just give part
But You gave your only Son, f
or a wretched man like me
Now I see, in my salvation Your glory shines
In my faith Your glory shines,
In obedience Your glory shines
Let Your glory shine in me
Open
up the gates of hope
and let the people turn to You
Let them see that You’re the way the life, a
nd Jesus You’re the truth
It’s
been so long since we’ve turned,
with repentant hearts
But Your love abandoned all,
Yeah it didn’t just give part
But You gave your only Son, f
or a wretched man like me
Now I see, in my salvation Your glory shines
In my faith Your glory shines,
in obedience Your glory shines
Let Your glory shine in me
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