Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name. (Isaiah 25:1)
There are only two reasons to do anything in life: One is for personal gain and the other is for God’s glory. The Scriptures are filled with examples of both, and it is always a good idea to inventory our hearts to see just what our motivations are for the things we are doing.
We can sum it all up this way: Are we using God as a means to attain an end? Or is the end God Himself? The first desire has us pursuing God for personal gain; the second is for God’s glory. Often we may be sailing through life without giving this any thought . . . until the storm winds begin to blow. When they do, we will know the true motive of our heart, because we will either shrink back from the trial or stand firm.
Let’s take a brief look at these two categories of professing Christians. Those who are working for personal gain look to their relationship with Jesus for the great gifts He can give them. They come for hope. They come for happiness. They come for a better home life. Some come to Him thinking that will guarantee them health and wealth. These are just a few of the personal gain reasons which make it painfully clear that they do not regard Jesus as their Messiah, only as the means to their desired ends.
On the other hand, those who are working for God’s glory look to Jesus as the end itself. Jesus is not the vehicle to victory, He is victory Himself. Jesus is not the way to wealth, He is our wealth. He is not the way to happiness, He is our joy.
How would you describe your walk with Jesus right now? Is your relationship with Jesus merely a means to a desired end? Or is Jesus the end Himself? We must always remember that we were created for relationship with Jesus, not for the rewards we get from Him.
There may be no better book in all the Bible to for displaying this truth lived out than the account of Job. God allowed His servant Job to suffer unimaginable losses: his health, his wealth, and all ten of his children. Job’s own wife harshly ridiculed him for staying committed to God. Job lost every reason to stay in a right relationship with God . . . except God Himself. And it is so gloriously obvious that Job loved God more than all the good gifts God had given him. Yes, Job loved his wealth, health, and children. But He loved God more! For Job, God was not a means to a desired end, God was the end Himself. Mere moments after he had learned of all the catastrophic losses that had befallen him in a single day, Job fell to the ground and worshiped:
“Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.” In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing. (Job 1:21-22).
May this be the confession of our lives! Let us build our relationship with God solely upon the goal of His glory and not our gain, because ultimately His glory IS our greatest gain!
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 