We Exist for the Glory of God
We exist for the glory of God. Honestly and truly, that really is the purpose for why we’re all here.
Right now, we’re all here, and we’re alive — and the reason we’re alive, most fundamentally is to see for ourselves and to show others that Jesus Christ is the supreme satisfaction of our souls. We are meant to experience and to express Jesus as our all-satisfying treasure and our all-consuming passion. That’s what I mean when I say we exist for the glory of God.
That’s our fundamental purpose, and then everything else orbits that. Think of a ‘life solar system.’ Jesus is at the center, and everything else — marriage, family, work, education, expertise, health — everything else in our lives orbits around, is shaped by, and reflects out the glory of the center, which is Jesus.
That is life in Christ, in its proper order, but so often, things can get wonky. We are prone to put the planets and moons and stars (these other things) in the place of the sun. And so we need to remind each other not to do that.
So, church, if I may …
Christian professionals, your work, as great as you are at it, with the talents and skills that God has given you — it’s not the center of your life. Jesus is.
Christian husbands and wives, your marriage, as healthy as it is and you hope it will be — it’s not the center of your life. Jesus is.
Christian parents, your children, amazing gifts that they are, bringing you so much joy, growing up as fast as they do — your children are not the center of your life. Jesus is.
See, the danger here is that whatever is at the center — even if something creeps there over time — that becomes what we worship. That becomes the thing that rules and determines all the others. And we might get by like that for a little while, but it won’t last … because it’s not meant to. Nothing other than the glory of God is why we exist.
And so my exhortation this morning is this: Let us surrender again to Jesus as our center. Surrender to Jesus as your all-satisfying treasure and your all-consuming passion.
And because too often he is not, we come to the Father now, to confess our sins.
Prayer of Confession
Our Father in heaven, we come to you now, desperate for your mercy. We confess to you that we are sinners, and of the worst degree, because we have defied your first commandment. In our thoughts, words, and actions, in what we have done and left undone, we have put other gods before you. O God, have mercy on us!
Jesus alone should occupy the center of our hearts, but we’ve let other things take his seat. And right now, in this room, in silent confession, lead us to repentance. Guide us by your Spirit, as we pray: “Forgive us for letting ______ take seat of Jesus.”
Triune God — to you Father, through the Son, by the Spirit, we declare that you are the one, true, living God. You’re all-sovereign and all-glorious. You are infinite, eternal, unchanging, all-sufficient, most wise, most holy, most just, most merciful and gracious, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. You are the Maker and Sustainer of the world; and the Lord and Ruler of history. And you have made yourself known to us in Jesus. You sent him into this world not to condemn us, but to save us. And now, it’s only in him, only by his blood, and we receive your mercy. In Jesus’s name, amen.
