The Lord has made everything for His own purpose. (Ps 16:4)
The reason that the universe is here ultimately is to glorify God. He made everything for His purpose. We must see God's glory in everything...even the little things! God's glory is His very essence and the demonstration of His power.
His glory is all around us. Everything that was created by Him reflects His glory. (Ps 19:1) We see God's glory throughout the Bible; a consuming fire, a cloud, thunder, smoke, and a brilliant light, for example. (Ex 24:17; 40:34; Ps 29:3; Is 6:3-4; 60:1; Luke 2:9) Heaven will have God's glory to light the way. (Rev 21:23)
Jesus illuminates God's nature, and therefore, His glory. (Hebs 1:3) He passes God's inherent glory.
Since God created all things, we should give Him the glory and respect that He deserves. He is worthy. (Rev 4:11a) In the whole universe, two of His creations do not give Him the glory; 1) fallen angels and 2) us. That is because of sin. Sin, simply put, is loving anything more than God. Sin caused Satan's fall...and it caused our's, too! (Rom 3:23)
We need to realize that we are here to bring glory to God. Our achievements are not our own, but God's; therefore, we should thank Him and give Him the glory.
How Can I Bring Glory to God?
Jesus said to the Father, "I brought glory to You here on earth by doing everything that You told me to do". (Jn 17:4) In this way, Jesus honored God. We can, and should, honor Him the same way. When we fulfill our purpose, we bring glory to God.
We have five purposes for our lives:
1) To worship God
Worship is our number one responsibility to God. To worship Him means to enjoy Him, through love and thanksgiving, not an obligation. It is a privileged to be able to openly spend time with Him. We need to give ourselves wholly to Him to be used for His purposes. (Rom 6:13)
2) To love other believers
When we were accepted into God's family, one of our responsibilities was to love the whole family of God. (1 Jn 3:14) When we do this, we glorify God. (Rom 15:7) We are to love each other with agape, which is the kind of love that Jesus has for us. (Jn 13:34-35)
3) To become like Christ
Once we are born into His family, He wants us to grow spiritually. We need to change the way we think, feel and act to be Christlike. When we do this, we bring glory to God. (2 Cor 3:18)
4) To serve others with our gifts
God gave each of us talents and gifts. The purpose was to help others with them. Do not hoard them, but develop and use them to benefit others. (1 Pet 4:10-11; 2 Cor 8:19b)
5) To tell others about Him
I, personally, think that this is one of the most important ways to bring glory to God. To share what God has done and is doing in our lives is one of the best ways to bring glory to Him. (2 Cor 4:15)
What Will You Live for?
We need to change everything in our lives to live for God's glory. We will sometimes have to choose the difficult path, instead of the easy one, as Jesus did. (Jn 12:27-28) We are faced with the choice of a life of bringing glory to God, or a life of carnal pleasure that ultimately will end badly. (Jn 12:25) Who are you living for: God or yourself? (Jn 12:25)
Point to Ponder
It's all for Him
Verse to Remember
Roms 11:36
Question to Consider
Where in my daily routine can I become more aware of God's glory?
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