Live for the Praise of God’s Glory

Scripture — Ephesians 1:8-14 (NRSV)

With all wisdom and insight [God] has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.

Devotion

When it comes to knowing God’s purpose and our purpose, Ephesians 1:8-14 is perhaps one of the most important passages in all of Scripture. Why? Because it reveals in a clear and compelling way both God’s purpose and our purpose.

First, God’s purpose or “plan” for all things is summed up in verse 10: “to gather up all things in [Christ], things in heaven and things on earth” (Eph 1:10). When the first humans sinned, God’s “very good” world was shattered, filled with broken pieces. But, through Christ, God is in the process of “gathering up all things,” that is, putting the shattered world back together. In place of brokenness there will be wholeness, what the Bible calls “peace” (shalom).

Second, according to verses 11-14, we have a crucial role to play in God’s cosmic purpose. We have been “destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory” (1:11-12). What was true of the first Christians is now true of all of “God’s own people,” namely, that we live “to the praise of his glory” (1:14).

As we seek to clarify our purpose in life, we must understand that God’s purpose comes first. As Rick Warren writes in The Purpose-Driven Life,

It’s not about you.

The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with God. You were born by his purpose and for his purpose.

And what is God’s purpose for you? In Ephesians, it’s all about God’s glory. God’s purpose for you – to live for God’s glory – defines your fundamental purpose in life – to live for God’s glory. The core purpose of your life is to glorify God.

But wait! Didn’t yesterday’s Life for Leaders devotion show that our core purpose is to love God and our neighbor? Now we learn that it’s glorifying God. How do we make sense of this? The simplest answer to this question recognizes that one of the chief ways we glorify God is by loving God and our neighbor. Loving God and your neighbor are means by which you live for the praise of God’s glory.

We might be tempted to think that when using the language of glorifying God we’re talking about obviously “religious” behavior. To be sure, we glorify God when we sing praise to God in corporate worship. We glorify God when we surrender our agendas for living and follow God’s ways. We glorify God when we tell others about God’s love and grace through Christ.

Yet we mustn’t limit glorifying God to the actions we associate with church and ministry. Rather, we are to live for the praise of God’s glory in every part of life, at work and at home, in our relationships and our purchases, in our friendships and our citizenship, and so forth. As it says in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.” Did you catch that? Do everything – EVERYTHING – for the glory of God. We don’t glorify God only through certain religious actions. Rather, as it says in Ephesians 1:12, we are to “live for the praise of God’s glory.”

Sometimes it’s fairly easy to discern what it means to live for the praise of God’s glory each day. If, for example, my colleagues at work know of the centrality of my faith in God, and if I treat them with genuine kindness, then God may very well receive the glory. But what if I’m a boss who needs to fire someone for just cause? How can I do this in a way that glorifies God? Or if my job is to market a product to maximize sales, how might God be glorified in this?

No matter how we define our purpose in life, we will always be challenged to figure out what this means for daily living. In this work of discernment, we need God’s help, in addition to God’s purpose. God’s help comes to us in different ways. We receive wisdom from Scripture. We receive guidance from the Spirit. We receive support and counsel from the Christian community. Yet, if we want to live for the praise of God’s glory, we begin by acknowledging to God that this is our purpose. We commit to knowing and living it, asking for God’s manifold help so that we might indeed live our purpose each moment of each day.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the High Calling archive, hosted by the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: What Helps You Pay Attention to How You’re Living? Part 5.