To the Glory of God Alone

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By David Block

There is something that God has placed within all mankind that drives us to ask, “What is my purpose in life?” People will climb for days to reach the top of the mountain to talk to the yogi, they will pay thousands of dollars to a psychic and they will work for 60, 70 or more hours a week all seeking the answer to this question. What surprises me is not that Christians seek the answer to the same question but that they are willing to pay millions of dollars to get the answer.

The Catechism says that the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. So what is your purpose in life? It's simple: glorify God. To glorify God means to declare praise, honor or worship to God. God has shown his glory in the universe and we are to point to and ascribe to God that glory. We are not to claim any of that glory for ourselves or other people or things but give God all glory for all things. The Bible says in Jude 25 “to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” and in Rev. 15:4 “Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed."

Throughout church history the idea that there is a sacred secular division in life has plagued the church. This is the idea that says that my life for God is on Sunday mornings and maybe some other night of the week but the rest of the time he really has nothing to do with me. But the verse that slams the door on this belief is 1 Cor. 10:31 It says, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” We often think about glorifying God in our worship services but how many of us take the time to think about glorifying God as we eat our supper, mow the lawn, or fill the gas tank? I would guess that many of us fail to remember the glory of God in whatever and all things that we do.

For a lot of Christians, they understand the purpose of their existence is to glorify God but they question what they are to do with their lives; what career would bring the most glory to God? This is a good question to ask but one I think too many Christians stress out over for no good reason. We are not called by God to seek out that one perfect job which that and only that perfect career will bring glory to God. We feel that any other job that we choose will be sub par. No the fact is whether you are in the pulpit, drive a bus, work in a factory, wash windows, sell clothes, wash kitchen floors, or paint, all these jobs can be done equally to the glory of God. The key is to do all by faith in God and as if you were doing the job as to Jesus himself. God's glory goes way beyond or choice of profession.

The Bible is clear that it is to God and God alone that glory is due. Our entire lives from the workplace to the dinner table, every moment of our lives ought to be reflecting the glory of God. The question is: how are you reflecting God’s glory?