“For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 1 Corinthians 6:20
Glorify God and enjoy Him forever. That is the chief end of man. So simple.
It isn’t a long to do list and it isn’t a situationally dependent complicated activity. Just imagine if the answer to this question was all about your credit rating and income, and the house you need to buy. Imagine if our faith said that the chief end of man was to put in a certain number of hours reading, or to have a certain number of children. Imagine if we thought that you had to work exclusively inside the home, or exclusively outside of it. Imagine if the church confessed that we had to have immaculate yards, sew all of our own clothes, grind our own wheat, or get a certain number of meals for the needy delivered. Imagine if the chief end of man was to be fit, or beautiful, or wear designer clothes, or have a home that could be featured on a blog. Many of these things are outside of our control, if not outside of our desire.
Now I know, and you know, that most Christians would not put any of the above random requirements into words as a statement of faith. But many of us slip equally ridiculous things into our own private goals and expectations. So while it is rare (probably not rare enough!) to hear a church state that you have to have at least four children, it is not at all rare to hear the sorrows of a woman who always thought that she had to do just that or she wouldn’t be a real Christian. It is not normal for Christians to express these things positively as a statement of faith, but it is absolutely common place for them to express it negatively as a failure. What I mean by that is, “I am not a real Christian like those other ladies in our church because I work part time outside the home” or “I am just doing the worst job because chronic pain and personal suffering has made it so that I can’t have large groups over for dinner regularly.” Or for a woman to feel less than a good Christian because she still has a bunch of baby weight (or bake sale) weight to lose which can be easily done if you buy phenq here.
If we hang on to the simplicity of this answer we will see the incredible freedom it offers us. Glorify God. That is your whole purpose. That is the purpose for your life. That is the purpose for your month, your week, your hour, your minute. That is the whole thing. God purchased you (you! with your unique problems and situations and concerns), and having been bought, therefore glorify.
Now I hope you can see with me what an incredible freedom this is. There is no suffering, no situation, no obstacle, no failing, no loss, no head cold, no trouble, no weakness that can get in the way of this. Are you God’s? Therefore glorify. We are all equally equipped every day that we have breath to glorify God, because in every day and in every situation we belong to Him. You can do this in poverty and in sickness, in wealth and joy, in sorrow, in grief. You can glorify Him in your weakness, in your faith, in your hope, in your bad hair day. Glorifying God is something that we can always, at any moment, accomplish. It is never done and it is never over until we go to do it eternally.
So if your marriage has failed, is you struggle with abuse in your past, glorify your God. If your laundry is threatening to overwhelm you, glorify your God. When you are sitting in a chair nursing an infant and your heart wants to count the things you are not getting to, get to the glory and glorify your God. If you feel overwhelmed by the weight you know you need to lose, know that you can begin glorifying God right now! Obedience is glory, faith is glory, hope is glory, work is glory, joy is glory. Glorify Him in your obedience. Glorify Him as you take dominion. Glorify God as you lay your lives on His altar. Are you financially muddled? Glorify God and dig in. Are you full of fear and anxiety? Glorify your God with how you deal with that. Is your heart broken over bad health, or sin, or trouble? Glorify your God as you steward those hardships. We are all of us, every day, in every situation, equipped to glorify our God. Don’t think you will do it after you get a grip, when you have time to get your hair done, after the crisis passes, or when you feel like it. This is the ultimate To Do list, and you always have the means at your disposal. You always belong to Him, therefore glorify.
Accomplish glory. Do it when you rise up and when you lie down. Do it when your house looks lovely and when it doesn’t. Do it when things are going smoothly and when the load you carry seems unbearable. Your God does not require from you that which you cannot offer. In every situation that any human will ever find themselves, there is always an opportunity for glory. Find it, and accomplish it. Those stretches of life where you feel like you never accomplish anything at all, accomplish glory. Those moments where you see your plans or hopes falling apart, accomplish glory. Whatever you do, do it for the glory of God. You are His, and He has equipped you in the very act of purchasing you, to glorify Him forever.
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I’m commenting anonymously simply because I don’t want my mom to see this and worry about me haha. But what I want to ask is how do I do this? What does it look like really, practically? Is it gratitude? Prayer? All of those? For me, my identity as a Christian isn’t tied up in these things. I know that God is not going to judge me for the piles of laundry or even for those times that I yelled or sinned against my family. I know that when he looks at me he sees Christ. But I still struggle with the pressure I put on myself to be everything to everyone all the time, simply because I don’t know what else I’m supposed to do. I understand if you can’t get to the heart of what I’m asking for here, but I’m reaching out in hope that someone understands or can relate. Thanks!
So, so good. We glorify him by our attitudes in the middle of all of it, right? He gets the glory when we face a situation that’s less than ideal and have a spirit of thankfulness when we could be complaining. People look at us and say, “What’s different about her?” and then if they ask, we can say it’s because of God’s work inside us, not ourselves. And that should make them hunger to know Him for themselves. . . .
To Anonymous: I think a lot of women can relate to what you’re saying, and I think the answer is still an identity one. You are right that you know that God isn’t judging you, but you aren’t ACCEPTING His non-judgment of you because you’re still judging YOURSELF. And that puts you in the position of God. So, confess it to Him and ask Him to help you receive His grace and help to take yourself off the throne. You are definitely not alone. 🙂
So timely for me–I read this while nursing my 5 week old baby, and I’m definitely in the midst of feeling as though I’m never accomplishing much! Thanks for the reminder of what my job really is.
SO good and simple. I always enjoy reading lizzyjank’s posts. Thanks for sharing your inspiring ideas.
Hello,
This message is for Rachel and Bekah. I’m not responding to this particular post but wanted to thank you for the recent pod cast shows that you’ve been doing! I wasn’t sure where would be the best place to get that thank you to you. So I’m hoping you both see this.
I just absolutely LOVE the podcasts! I am a 36 year old mom of 2 little boys (almost 3 and 1 and 1/2). Praying for God to keep them coming! Their dad and I were married 4 years ago. It was always my deepest desire to have a family and I want to get this right! I want to be a mom and wife the way Jesus wants me to do those things! I currently work full time as a teacher but my husband and I both want me to be at home to do the so important full time work there. So we’re working to make that possible financially. With that said, the wisdom that you and your sister share is such a gift from God. I’m grateful for it. I have an hour commute one way to work so I just can’t wait for each podcast to come out so I can listen on my ride. I have followed your written blogs for some time and have been so richly blessed by them too but there’s something extra personal about the podcasts. I feel like I am a third sister in the car with you!! It’s great to hear your voices and your tones. I do not have any sisters and both of my parents are deceased ( my mom was a recent loss- when I was pregnant with my first). So letting me “in the car” with you both is honestly a treasure. You both make me laugh so hard…sometimes out loud!! Your lighthearted fun personalities remind me and have encouraged me to be lighthearted as well and have fun when I may normally be too serious. Then your more serious words of wisdom offer incredible insights into how to be a blessing to my kids and husband. I also just love your recommends or random things you share about navigating in the kitchen, crafting etc…
So again , thank you with all my heart and looking forward to the next one. Hope you continue them!!! Happy Easter to you and your family that has so richly blessed me and mine! Praise God for the fellowship of the saints…even if it is only through technology for now!
Awesome post I love it thank you- always always what I try to do and teach is to be myself to God’s glory and not me trying to be whatever i think the perfect Christian woman is!
But please can you help me explain glory/glorifying esp to my teenagers, ie how to be to God’s glory/how to glorify Him?
Anon,
I think one way we do this is to make much of Christ in each situation. Hebrews 1 says the Son is the radiance of His glory, He is the image of the invisible God (Col. 1) I think one way we glorify is to make much of Christ, to point to the One who is the radiance of the glory of God. When we sin against our children, ask their forgiveness, remind them (and yourself) of your need for Christ, and let them see you rejoice in that forgiveness. When we are struggling to have needs met, let us remember that our greatest has already been met-in Christ. When we are suffering loss, let us find seek solace in knowing that one day every tear will be wiped away. Rest in, rejoice over, remind ourselves of Christ and what He has done and let us make much of Him!
“Oh magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt His name together”
Obedience is glory, faith is glory, hope is glory, work is glory, joy is glory.
This is so helpful to me, Lizzie, thank you! It makes the object of the day seem simpler but also more dignified 🙂
Podcast comment: HOW does one go about teaching daughters how to deal with emotions in a healthy way? My oldest (of five) girl just turned nine today, and I’d love to learn how to not stuff emotions or trust only in them, but how to train my daughters to take every thought captive and be delightful teenagers and adults. Will you please talk more about this on an upcoming podcast?
Hi Anonymous, This may not answer what you are asking, but to me Glorifying God means doing what He said we should do. Jesus gave us two commandments. First, love God—which means love what is good and right, and try your best to do what is right. Second, treat others as you would like to be treated. In order to do these things, we have to deal with our circumstances where we are. We are not to battle our circumstances; we are to live within them. For example, my 2-year old grandson broke a bowl. He had kind of an impish grin on his face before he dropped it on the floor. He looked right at me and dropped it. His parents and I could have freaked out and punished him, but he is two. He never saw a bowl break before. Expecting him to act older than he is would be fighting circumstance. Instead we dealt with the circumstance. His mom picked him up and talked with him about breakable bowls. The rest of us picked up the broken pieces. Being overwhelmed with things like broken bowls may seem bad, but it is actually a huge blessing. Parents are needed. A wife and mom is the center of family. As I reflect on my life, I kind of wish that those years with kids and chaos lasted a bit longer. (Well, maybe not. I get to go home after hanging out with the grandkids.)
Hi Rachel, I learned of your blog through the article in AFA Journal’s May 2017 issue. I’m a guy and have enjoyed your blog—I hope that’s okay!
Thank you for this wonderful post. It was a blessing to me as I am a mom with chronic illness and unable to do the things I always thought I would be able to do…like have many children and host church meals. It was a reminder to me that God values a heart that worships Him above all.
Anonymous, I know exactly what you are saying. A wise friend told me that glorifying God means worshiping and turning your heart toward Him in all circumstances. In joy it means living the joy with a grateful heart focussed on Him. In suffering it means turning toward Him even in pain…crying out to Him and dealing with our pain at the foot of the cross, rather than trying to escape it or numb it. It means praying even through the anger and frustration and allowing God to minister to our hearts rather than shutting Him out in pride. It means boldly clinging to the promises of God and repenting constantly when we struggle with that indwelling sin that seems undefeatable. I hope this gives you a place to start.
Thanks again for this Gospel centered article.
Overall, I love listening to the podcast you two sisters have created. Funny and thought provoking!
But I have to say that it is very tiresome that Rachel regularly interrupts or tries to speak over Rebekah. It happens in almost every episode!
I could not leave a comment on the NSA site, so am doing so here.
Thank you for this post, Rachel! What an encouragement it has been to me! I have read and reread it several times, and passed it along to my friends.
This isn’t a comment about this post but I just have to say I just found your podcast and love it. I’m really enjoying the recommendation of Bravetart:) Also for the bit about planner frustration, please consider Sue Hooleys Homemakers Friend Planner it changed my life!!! It’s my 3rd year using her planner and I love it more each year!!!
Thank you for this post! It is so easy to get caught up in “doing good works” that we forget that our main goal is to glorify out Father in Heaven! Thanks for that reminder today!
Rebekah Joy
http://www.moreradiance.com