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For His Glory

by Steven Harper

Christians, by definition, are followers of Christ, and wear His name by choice. God has not pre-selected us individually, without regard to our desire to serve Him or not, so we live for Him by choice, and wear His name by choice. God is not going to drag anyone into heaven against their will, kicking and screaming all the way. The sad reality is, if we miss heaven, it is because we really didn’t want to go.

As Christians, it is the responsibility of each individual to live up to the standards our Lord has established. As John put it, “He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked” (I John 2:6); in other words, if we claim to be one of His disciples, then we should live as He lived. By our lives – by our words and deeds – others will judge the whole of Christianity [its message and its people], fair or not.

As disciples, we are exhorted to live a godly, righteous life for that very reason. Peter admonished the early Christians, “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation” (I Peter 2:11-12). If we live a righteous life that is shown by our honorable conduct, others may glorify God because of what they observe in us. It is the fact we are “sojourners and pilgrims” – not citizens of this world – that we live this way; it is the worldly that pursue those fleshly lusts.

Jesus said the same thing, in the Sermon on the Mount, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16). We are to be a positive influence on the world around us, and our lives are to be an example of godliness and love for others, to the point others will find reason to glorify God because of what they see us do, and the life they see us living. Let us note here and now that we live a godly life and do the good works not merely to be seen of men (cf. Matthew 6:1-4), but that others might give God the glory.

Fight For His Glory. Let’s think about our spiritual warfare; how do we engage the enemy? Do we do it with honor and in a way that demonstrates we are guided by righteous motives and righteous goals? Do we “do unto others before they do unto us,” or do we “Repay no one evil for evil” (Romans 12:17)? The way we engage in the spiritual battle will reflect on the Lord! If the world sees us stoop to the same crass, boorish behavior that is so common in the world, they will not be glorifying God; they will likely think we are no better than anyone else or – more likely – that we are hypocrites.

When we engage in spiritual battles, our aim is not to “zing” someone else, but to win their souls to Christ; sarcasm and rude behavior will not bring anyone to Christ! Let us “fight the good fight of faith” (I Timothy 6:12), and let us fight it well, according to the pattern our Lord left for us, and that He intended us to follow (I Peter 2:20-23).

Live For His Glory. As we noted earlier, Jesus and Peter have both exhorted disciples to live in a way that brings glory to God and Christ. If we learn anything from those words it is that our manner of life does matter. Some simply do not make the connection between their beliefs and their manner of life and observers would never judge them to be followers of Christ because they live as the world lives. In such cases, no one will glorify God by observing their manner of life!

Whatever our thinking may be that leads us to live worldly lives even as we wear the name of Christ, we should know that our behavior is a direct reflection on Him whose name we wear. Even early disciples were warned against worldly behavior, with a reminder that they would not escape God’s judgment if they practiced it (Romans 2:3), and that God’s name was actually blasphemed – not glorified – because of it (Romans 2:24). This is a warning all disciples should heed, for our manner of life will either bring glory to Christ’s name, or it will bring shame, when others observe us.

Take Time To Give Him Glory. As disciples, we are of those who have realized our sin and have given ourselves over to God’s service because we know our forgiveness and ultimate salvation will be because of His great mercy and grace. We, of all people, should know of the love of God, demonstrated when He sent His Son to die for us (Romans 5:8), and the love of Christ that moved Him to surrender Himself willingly for us (Ephesians 5:2; I John 3:16). As John wrote, “We love Him because He first loved us” (I John 4:19).

But how deeply do we love Him? Considering the fact He was willing to give us His Son, it would seem only reasonable that we return the love to the same degree. No, we cannot give our children to Him to demonstrate our love, but we can give ourselves. In fact, that is what He wants from us (Romans 12:1). Furthermore, our love for Him should be demonstrated in our regular worship of Him, for that is the very definition of worship – the reverent love shown to God.

How often do you show God you love Him through your worship? I am not one who argues “all life is worship” because true worship is a purposeful act where the one offering takes the time to think about his or her actions and words, that God might truly be glorified by such. True worship comes when we think about what the Lord has done for us and determine to show and tell God how much we love Him because of it.

If you love the Lord, show Him how much you love Him by keeping His commandments (John 14:15), but show it also by taking the time to glorify Him in worship. Honor Him from the heart (Matthew 15:8; John 4:23-24).

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