I believe that everything that God has created has a divine purpose. For we read in (Psalm 19:1): “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” It is clear that God’s existence is manifest when we look at His creation. From a brilliant star-filled night sky, to the beauty of a single red rose creation is the divine testimony of an all-powerful God on display. But if nature was created to declare the glory of God how much more should we, who are created in the image of God, live our lives to reflect His glory to the world we live in.
My friends the more I study the Scriptures the clearer it becomes to me that man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. God’s glory, whether manifested in nature or in mankind, is there for all to see, even when we don’t worship Jesus as Lord. C.S. Lewis states this thought well when he proclaimed: “A man can no more diminish God’s glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word ‘darkness’ on the walls of his cell.”1 And when we don’t glorify God through our worship, our talents, and our lifestyle, not only are we out of God’s will, but we miss out on all the joy that a true servant of the Lord was made to experience. You see glorifying God through our lives always brings with it great joy – it’s like they are two sides of the same coin. When we glorify God we are pleasing the Creator of the universe and knowing this is, in my opinion, the greatest joy in life.
In the remainder of this devotion and in tomorrow’s Part II, I would like to share a variety of quotes, by well-known Christians, to help you see why glorifying God should be the highest privilege of a Christian.2
“Our high and privileged calling is to do the will of God in the power of God for the glory of God.” ~ J. I. Packer
“Our ultimate aim in life is not to be healthy, wealthy, prosperous, or problem free. Our ultimate aim in life is to bring glory to God.” ~ Anne Graham Lotz
“The glory of God always comes at the sacrifice of self.” ~ Aiden Wilson Tozer
“God is able to take your life, with all of the heartache, all of the pain, all of the regret, all of the missed opportunities, and use you for His glory.” ~ Charles R. Swindoll
“The deepest longing of the human heart is to know and enjoy the glory of God. We were made for this.” ~ John Piper
“What is the glory of God? It is who God is. It is the essence of His nature; the weight of His importance; the radiance of His splendor; the demonstration of His power; the atmosphere of His presence.” ~ Rick Warren
“If you don’t feel strong desires for the manifestation of the glory of God, it is not because you have drunk deeply and are satisfied. It is because you have nibbled so long at the table of the world. Your soul is stuffed with small things, and there is no room for the great.” ~ John Piper
“Daniel gave all the glory to God; he took none of it for himself. There is no limit to what God will do for the believer who will let God have all the glory.” ~ Warren W. Wiersbe
“The glory of God shines, indeed, in all creatures on high and below, but never more brightly than in the cross.” ~ John Calvin
“How do we bring glory to God? The Bible’s short answer is: by growing more and more like Jesus Christ.” ~ Sinclair B. Ferguson
“We tend to set up success in Christian work as our purpose, but our purpose should be to display the glory of God in human life, to live a life ‘hidden with Christ in God’ in our everyday human conditions.” ~ Oswald Chambers
“The highest glory of the creature is in being only a vessel, to receive and enjoy and show forth the glory of God. It can do this only as it is willing to be nothing in itself, that God may be all. Water always fills first the lowest places. The lower, the emptier a man lies before God, the speedier and the fuller will be the inflow of the diving glory.” ~ Andrew Murray
“The greater the difficulty to be overcome, the more will it be seen to the glory of God how much can be done by prayer and faith.” ~ George Muller
“The marvel of heaven and earth, of time and eternity, is the atoning death of Jesus Christ. This is the mystery that brings more glory to God than all creation.” ~ Charles Spurgeon
“The word of God is more than enough for the people of God to live their lives to the glory of God.” ~ Kevin DeYoung
“We do not segment our lives, giving some time to God, some to our business or schooling, while keeping parts to ourselves. The idea is to live all of our lives in the presence of God, under the authority of God, and for the honor and glory of God. That is what the Christian life is all about.” ~ R. C. Sproul
1 Inspirational Quotes by C.S. Lewis (bibleportal.com)
2 All of these quotes are from the website below:
TOP 25 GLORY OF GOD QUOTES (of 265) | A-Z Quotes (azquotes.com)