GENESIS 1:28 – And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth”.
THEME OF THE DAY. OUR CHIEF PURPOSE AND PLEASURE IN LIFE. How would we answer today’s nugget theme? If we know the answer to the Westminster and Baptist Shorter Catechism question one, “What is the chief end of man?”, we would answer, “To glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” And should we give that answer to today’s nugget theme, I would follow up with the question to us, “So, how do we do that?” It is very easy and sounds so “spiritual” to say, “Our chief purpose and pleasure in life is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” In fact, in good Bible-centered churches, this may easily become one of those “vague” Christian terms that rolls off the tongue with ease but might be difficult to put into action in our daily lives.
So, to put “feet” on our chief purpose and pleasure in life, glorifying and enjoying God forever, we need to go all the way back to the Garden of Eden to help us with the “how to”. It is found in today’s scripture and God’s first word to His most prized creation – Adam and Eve.
In reading God’s first word, don’t focus on what He told them to do. Instead, pay attention to what form it took – a command. And here is the “how to” when it comes to fulfilling our chief purpose and pleasure in life. It is in obedience to God. Jesus placed the highest importance on obeying God. He said it is the, not a, but “the” measurement of our love for Him – “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). We simply cannot sing songs expressing our love for the Lord if our lives don’t reflect our singing. And Jesus would also give us the stark reality if our obedience to Him is absent – “Whoever does not love me does not keep my words” (John 14:24a). Let’s ensure that we are striving to make our practice of faith in Christ more and more closer to our profession of faith in Christ. It is a matter of loving Him or not. It would also be a good discipline for us to ask the Lord to make obeying Him the most important thing in our lives. Perhaps even using the following four statements to not only direct our minds but directing our praying.
Our greatest purpose in life is obeying God. It is why we were created and then re-created in Christ by salvation. Our greatest pleasure in life is obeying God. There is nothing more satisfying to the soul and brings pleasure in life than to know we are pleasing the Lord through obedience. Our greatest pursuit in life is obeying God. We need direction in life; a compass to daily guide us and it is found in pursuing a deliberate life of obeying God. And finally, our greatest achievement in life is obeying God. Oh, to be able to live so committed to daily obedience to God’s Word that when our lives on earth are over, and we attend our funerals, the spiritual legacy of obeying God is the highlight that is most remembered. May the Lord help us to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever through a life of self-denying and loving obedience to His Word.
PRAYER: “Father, help me to see my purpose in life and pleasure in life are the same: obeying You.”
QUOTE: “We were created for God to obey Him and in obeying Him we love Him – the reason for our existence.”