Some time after the glow of being married recede some couples begin to take each other for granted. Little attention is given to the development of the marriage. Weight is gained, isolation kicks in, and life becomes ho-hum. Some spouses even begin to chide their partner and demonstrate lack of honor and respect in front of others. Somehow any value of the partner has disappeared and now only disdain seems to fill their mouths. This shouldn't be. When as Christians we don’t live our lives in honor of God; when we disrespect God by disobeying his word or we break his heart over areas where we sit as master, we show that at least in our life-ruling concept of God, we are also rather, ho-hum. Although many believers in Christ live as if God is important, and even essential to their faith, they fail to live surrendered lives because they are NOT in awe of God’s greatness, majesty and wonder.
Why does God seek his glory? As God seeks his own glory he calls us to worship him, and the act of valuing and honoring God, with all our hearts, consequently leads to produce in us the desire to share the good news of Jesus with others. In other words, living for God and desiring to be used of God to share our faith in Christ is strictly linked to how we view the Lord and the kind of worship we render to him. Again, this is the way John Piper explains it. “. . . The deepest reason why worship is the goal in missions is that worship is God’s goal” (15). But again, why does God seek his own glory? Why is worshipping God, and not sharing your faith or any other way of serving God, the highest calling? Why is God seeking his glory, fame and honor?
Is this confusing? It really isn’t if you understand what Piper is saying about how missions will flow from God’s people. First, for God not to want to bring glory to him would lead God to commit idolatry. Hang in there. Second, for God to seek his own glory is to seek our best interest which in turn can only be realized when God is worshipped. Why should God exalt his own glory? Piper clarifies this for us: “He would be unrighteous not to do so since he would not be prizing what is infinitely valuable. He would be, in fact, an idolater if he esteemed as his infinite treasure something less precious than his own glory” (26). What Piper is saying is that the most righteous and most perfect thing for God to do is to worship that which is most worthy, honorable and highest . . . himself! Now I’m hearing some of you say, “You’ve lost me.” But, please hold on, as we go a little deeper still.
Think for a moment about how we could bring the most glory to God. What will fuel your missions, your evangelism, and your life lived in total surrender to God? Paul taught in 1 Corinthians 10:31 that we are to do all things to the glory of God. He told us to glorify God in whatever we do. That is, our lives should be concerned with the glory and honor of God. God desires that we glorify him for who he is. But, what does this all mean? Piper writes what may be the most significant statement of his book: “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him” (26). Please re-read this statement a few times. It’s significant and life changing. “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him” Helping sinners find the cross and understand the reason for Christ’s death and resurrection is not the goal. The worship of God by sinners is. To serve the poor, feed the hungry, educate the masses, and heal humanity’s pain is not the goal. The worship of God by those who are set free is. The enjoyment of the good things in life and the good pleasures of life is not the goal of our existence. The worship of God’s children who acknowledge that all good gifts come from him is. Are you beginning to understand how it is that as we begin to recalculate what our true calling is will we then begin to do the works of God more willfully and consistently?
In conclusion, when is the Church most mobilized, energized, and compelled to want to share Christ? Here’s the final answer: It is when God’s children are “most satisfied in him.” It is when the redeemed are most satisfied in seeking after God that their meager service will flow from a heart full of wonder for God. It is when our most treasured desire is to seek to be in a growing relationship with God because we are "most satisfied in him." This is why for God to seek his own glory is not selfish or self-gratifying. “If it is true, then it becomes plain why God is loving when he seeks to exalt his glory in my life. For that would mean that he would seek to maximize my satisfaction in him, since he is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in him” (26).
Is God your greatest passion? Do you run after God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength? If not, spend some time to get alone with him, confess your lesser gods, acknowledge his lordship over your life, and ask the Holy Spirit to fill you with a heart of worship for our Creator and Savior. It is only as each of us who call ourselves followers of Christ continues to seek the glory of God as our highest calling, will a desire to love people, and share our lives and faith with them, become the heartbeat of our lives.
Por Su Gracia y Poder
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