You and I were designed and created by God for a specific purpose - to bring glory to God.
A life of wasted potential is such a sad thing. How does one avoid this tragedy? By pursuing the purpose for which he was created and designed.
2 Corinthians 3:18 says
“All of us, then, reflect the glory of the Lord with uncovered faces; and that same glory, coming from the Lord, who is the Spirit, transforms us into his likeness in an ever greater degree of glory.” (Good News Translation)
Allow me to go all Greek on you for a sec. “Glory” is the translation of the Greek word “doxa,” which means honor, renown, the unspoken manifestation of God, splendor. We reflect God’s glory by being who He made us to be and doing what He made us to do. The privilege of reflecting God’s glory is our glory. The very definition of sin is to fall short of the glory of God. To fall short of our glory is the essence of sin.
Look, sin is not just about robbing banks or committing adultery, or gossiping. Sin is falling short of being what God intends me to be.
How do we fall short?
How do we get it back?
How do we keep it?
Falling Short of God’s Glory and Our Glory
A Stradivarius violin was designed and created by Antonio Stradivari for a purpose - to make beautiful music. The violin glorifies its designer/maker by doing what it was made to do—make beautiful music. I saw on Pinterest where a violin had been made into a planter. Cute, huh? Not so much for a $16 million Stradavarius. We cringe because we know that’s a waste of its potential, a violation of its design and purpose.
Here are my previous blog posts where the purposes of God for mankind have been explored.
Here is the music we are to make—living as Image Bearers, Stewards, Daughters, the Bride of Christ, and the Temple of the Holy Spirit. These things are to be the magnificent obsession of our lives, with every other thing insignificant in comparison.
The Stradavarius could serve as a planter, it would work. You could pursue wealth or popularity or comfort, but I believe the angels weep at the death of potential glory.
Getting Back the Glory
How do we get the glory back? This is sort of a trick question because we don’t. Jesus already has. This is what He won back for us when He died on the cross. This is what He is restoring to us and us to. That’s why Paul can say in 2 Corinthians 3:8
“All of us, then, reflect the glory of the Lord with uncovered faces…”
All of us who are in Christ and have had our potential restored. As with all other spiritual blessings given to us by the Lord, the glory is ours—we just have to learn to walk in it.
Pursuing the Glory
Which leads to this question: How do we walk in it? How do we pursue our glory? It’s a lifelong process, learning to live out every single day who God says we are.
“…that same glory, coming from the Lord, who is the Spirit, transforms us into his likeness in an ever greater degree of glory.”
But some foundational decisions must be made.
I must reject the idolatry of pursuing any other primary purpose such as wealth or comfort.
I must be diligent to discern how God has designed me personally, because each of us is unique.
I must commit to following God rather than the world, because the world will lead me to be a stupid planter rather than the glory-reflecting instrument I truly am.
Don’t settle! Make beautiful music! Relentlessly pursue God’s glory by pursuing your glory!
You can learn about your Kingdom Assignment in my book The Four Elements of Your Kingdom Assignment: How to Discover Your Place in God's Kingdom.
NEW! Launching on June 1, 2023, a 21 day workbook all about your heart and the essential role it plays in your spiritual growth! (Available now, but on June 1 it will be half-price!)
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