Unapologetic Passion

Question: What is the chief and highest end of man?
Answer: Man's chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy him forever.

I've done much reflecting on this statement over the past several months. I believe this statement. I believe it with all of my heart and mind and soul - and I would say that this is the one thing that I am passionate about. I've recently complained about the overuse of the word 'passionate' - but I make no apologies for using it here. My end and my aim is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. This is the one thing I will be passionate about. I will not be passionate about coffee or sex or Pocket PC's or church growth or model trains or music or ministry of any kind. My end and aim is to glorify my glorious God with my life.

However, therein lays the paradoxical question. What does that mean? What does it mean to 'Glorify God with my life'? 'Glorify' is a potentially vague and nebulous term. The thing I have to realize is that in any attempt that I make to 'glorify God with my life' - I will fail. God is already glorious. He is already 'high and exalted' and his glorious train of light already fills the temple of heaven. If the heavens declare his glory - then how on earth shall I? You and I and anyone else who might read this and anyone else whom we might know can not add one beam of glory to One who is perfectly glorious. To say that we could would be absolutely blasphemous.

So I'm back to my original question. How do I glorify God? How do any of us glorify this God? His people were amazed that anyone could see even a part of His glory and live to tell about it (Deuteronomy 5:24).

I think 'glorifying God' must have something to do with the second and oft forgotten part of this catechism. We are to enjoy Him fully. Forever. Forever means now, as well as eternity. In light of this, the psalmists plea make a lot more sense to me.

Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Psalm 90:14

I receive my satisfaction in my glorious God. As I do so I will glorify Him. I am convinced that the only way we can glorify God is to receive from God. There is nothing that we have that has not been received. He is the giver of every good gift. So our Father of Lights is glorified - not when we try to glorify him by 'payback' (the antithesis of grace). Our Father of lights is glorified when we receive everything from Him.

However, I think we fail to glorify God and stop short of this aim and end if we simply consider our lives as mere receptacles of God's gifts only. There is something more here.

For glory to be glorious, glory must be seen. Therefore, I believe our lives glorify God as we receive glory from God and reflect glory back to God - not for the sake of giving God 'extra glory' (remember, our adding to His glory is blasphemous). But we reflect glory so that he can be seen and enjoyed and known to those who don't know Him. If glory is not seen, it can not be known and enjoyed.

Peter states it well in I Peter 2:9

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession

In other words, we have received enormous blessing from God. Redemption and the cross and God's enormous work of grace in our lives has resulted in royalty and holiness. His royalty. His holiness. Thus - His glorious gifts.

Why? For what purpose does He do this?

...that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

This I know - my life is about this one thing: the receiving and reflecting of my glorious God. To state this in terms of my response: the very purpose and meaning of my existence is to amplify worship and work toward the multiplication of worshippers of my most glorious God. I will spend the rest of my life in this pursuit - on this mission. This passion is something I will live for and the spreading of this passion is what I will die for. It is my personal concern that there are people and places where my most glorious God is not seen, and thus not known and not received and reflected. Thus it is my personal agenda to align my life with God's ultimate purpose - that the whole earth be filled with his glory and that His people enjoy His presence forever.

Therefore, I am passionate about this one thing - and passionate without apology.