The Purpose Driven Life, Chapter Seven
The Reason For Everything
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JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
The ultimate goal of the universe is to show the glory of God. The glory of God is who God is--the essence of His nature, the weight of His importance, the radiance of His splendor, the demonstration of His power, and the atmosphere of His presence. We are to recognize His glory, honor His glory, declare His glory, praise His glory, reflect His glory, and live for His glory.
All sin, at its root, is failing to give God glory. It is loving something else more than God.
How To Bring Glory To God
1) By worshipping him
Worship is a lifestyle of enjoying God, loving Him, and giving ourselves to be used for His purposes.
2) By loving other believers
It is your responsibility to learn how to love as God does, because God is love.
(Then shouldn't we love EVERYONE, not just other believers?)
3) By becoming like Christ
Becoming like Christ in the way we think, feel and act means reaching spiritual maturity.
4) By serving others with our gifts
Your abilities were given to benefit others, just as others were given abilities for your benefit.
(Serving others is something I feel I've got something of a handle on--wife, mother, teacher, volunteer, etc.)
5) By telling others about Him.
Once we know the truth, He expects us to share it with others.
(I've NEVER been comfortable with this. For the most part, I consider that personal and private, and prefer not to talk about it. Perhaps these posts are a way of moving beyond that for me, though.)
Living the rest of your life for the glory of God requires a change in your priorities, your schedule, your relationships, etc. It will sometimes mean choosing a difficult path instead of an easy one.
Tomorrow, we begin to look at the first of five purposes: You Were Planned For God's Pleasure
All sin, at its root, is failing to give God glory. It is loving something else more than God.
How To Bring Glory To God
1) By worshipping him
Worship is a lifestyle of enjoying God, loving Him, and giving ourselves to be used for His purposes.
2) By loving other believers
It is your responsibility to learn how to love as God does, because God is love.
(Then shouldn't we love EVERYONE, not just other believers?)
3) By becoming like Christ
Becoming like Christ in the way we think, feel and act means reaching spiritual maturity.
4) By serving others with our gifts
Your abilities were given to benefit others, just as others were given abilities for your benefit.
(Serving others is something I feel I've got something of a handle on--wife, mother, teacher, volunteer, etc.)
5) By telling others about Him.
Once we know the truth, He expects us to share it with others.
(I've NEVER been comfortable with this. For the most part, I consider that personal and private, and prefer not to talk about it. Perhaps these posts are a way of moving beyond that for me, though.)
Living the rest of your life for the glory of God requires a change in your priorities, your schedule, your relationships, etc. It will sometimes mean choosing a difficult path instead of an easy one.
Tomorrow, we begin to look at the first of five purposes: You Were Planned For God's Pleasure
