Life's Ultimate Purpose

Life's Ultimate Purpose (1 Corinthians 10:31)

Life is full of activity. Most who read Freedom Fighters still work every day. Many of us still have children at home. Our responsibilities are varied and many. We engage many different kinds of people and every kind of job imaginable. Those of us who know and follow Jesus, however still have on overarching purpose in life.

The Apostle Paul defines that purpose for us in 1 Corinthians 10:31. "Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." That is simple to say, but not so easy to live out. Most of us probably know that already.

I have been thinking about what it looks like to do everything to the glory of God. I invite you to think about it with me. If Scripture tells us that we should do everything for the glory of God, then we need to figure out how to do that.

Here are some observations, and I may think of more for tomorrow's edition of FF. First, everything means everything. I'm asking God to help me get to the place where I think consistently about seeking His glory. I want to think about whether what I say, think or do will bring glory to Him. If it doesn't, I probably do not need to say it, think it, or do it.

It occurs to me, too, that doing everything to the glory of God is not something I can do on my own. As I think about some of the metaphors God gives us that describe the Christian life, I discover that I must live in ongoing fellowship with Jesus. If I'm in the yoke with Jesus, I'll find it easier to do everything for His glory. If I abide in Christ, I'll always have His help in pursuing His glory. If I walk in the Spirit, the Spirit (who is called the Helper) helps me do everything for God's glory. Living for God's glory is not a solo lifestyle!

Finally, living for God's glory removes the focus from me to God. The world tells us that it's all about ourselves, but that's a lie. For those who follow Christ, a focus anywhere but on Jesus is always the wrong focus. Fixing our eyes on Jesus will help us live for His glory.

Think about living for His glory as you drive, work, hang out with your family, and go to church this weekend. Think about living for His glory when you're alone . . . when no one else is around. Life's ultimate purpose is to "do all for the glory of God" 24/7. We're not offered breaks from the purpose. We do not get down time to live only for ourselves. Freedom Fighters follow Jesus and do everything for His glory . . . all the time. John D. Strain is Senior Pastor of First Baptist Toms River

God's WORD for TODAY: Psalm 4-6; Acts 17:16-34

Think about this: Be natural; forget yourself; be so absorbed in what you are doing and in the realization of the presence of God, and in the glory and the greatness of the Truth that you are preaching, and the occasion that brings you together,...that you forget yourself completely. That is the right condition; that is the only place of safety; that is the only way in which you can honor God. Self is the greatest enemy of the preacher, more so than in the case of any other man in society. And the only way to deal with self is to be so taken up with, and so enraptured by, the glory of what you are doing, that you forget yourself altogether. -- Martyn Lloyd-Jones