Living for the Glory of God

 This past Sunday was our missions emphasis Sunday.  Mike Deen spoke to us on living for the glory of God and how essentially that boils down to proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ and encouraging and building up the body of Christ by meeting each other's needs.  

As I thought about this I was reminded of the fact that glory is not shared.  When you have a glorious moment in your life, all that matters in that moment is the focus of the glory.  Maybe your favorite sports team is winning and competing at the highest level.  I remember a few years back when the Chicago Cubs were actually competing for a World Series Title after a long, long wait.  In the moment that they won for many people the world stood still - the rest of the world did not matter - the Cubs had won.  Or perhaps you remember holding your newborn in your arms for the first time.  Or the time that you lifted the veil and saw the eyes of your spouse and said, "I do."  Or perhaps it is something else.  But whatever it is in that moment of glory there is nothing else. 

I think to some degree that is what God wants us to understand about His glory.  In each moment we are to live for His glory and honor.  Nothing else really matters.  So when the Cubs win, or I hold a newborn baby, or I get married, all of those moments are to be lived for the glory of God.  When I wake up each morning and go to work, or school, or stay home, each moment is to be lived for the glory of God.  Fundamentally, there is nothing else more important than His glory!  And so each moment of our lives are we considering what it is that God would have us do through His Son?  Are we really living for His glory?

Death is not Death

 In Sunday School this week we talked about 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.  One of the phrases in this is the following, "But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep . . . "  It seems odd to say that someone who is dead is simply asleep.  This is what Jesus does in Mark 5:39.  Jesus says in John 11:26 that everyone who believes in Him will never die.  So what does this all mean.  

I think that it is important for us as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ to realize an important truth - we have been given eternal life.  Not we will receive eternal life when we die, but we have eternal life in Christ Jesus.  That means that life I presently live is eternal life.  So when my time is up on this mortal life, I will immediately find myself very much alive in the presence of Christ my Savior.  

This also means that our loved ones and friends who die in Christ also are still alive.  We may grieve their absence from us, but we know that because Jesus lives, they live, and because Jesus lives, we live and we can have the hope of knowing that we who believe will ALL be with Jesus together some day.  What a glorious hope we have in Christ.  Death in this world is not an end, nor is it (as it is often described) a beginning in the truest sense.  It is instead a continuation of that which we have in Christ.  How glorious that we can live without the confines and presence of sin. How glorious that we can continue in the presence of Christ now and for eternity.  How glorious that we can now live a life free from the sting of death because of the victory offered to us freely as a gift in Christ Jesus.  

One word of caution.  If you do not know Christ as Lord and Savior this freedom and eternal life is not yours.  In its place you have eternal death and separation from God to look forward to.  And given the choice, I would choose life and therefore choose Christ.  Would you consider your choice today?