Purpose

 

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:17 ESV

                God gives purpose and import to all of life. He gives a transcendent purpose and import to all of life as only He can. One of the aspects of the great gift of salvation is the return of purpose to life which was lost in the curse of sin. Apart from the work of Christ and the grace thus extended to us and received by faith we live futile toilsome lives under such conditions that it is rightly said we had been dead in our transgressions. For indeed the unregenerate life is not worth calling life as it has no definite purpose, nor any true import. Whatever it might be said to produce shall as the soul itself be consumed in fire.

                Therefore, we ought to be thankful as we recognize that by grace through faith we have been brought to life in Christ with a purpose in each and every moment which is grand and glorious and shall remain. Now, we might still know toil, and hardship, and trials, and afflictions, and sufferings and indeed we shall know all these things but we shall now also that they have a purpose and that they produce something of eternal value in us and through us. Thus, is our thankfulness unaffected by circumstances as is our aim. And here from one perspective is the secret of contentment regardless of circumstance.

                Beloved, if you do not know what was the futility of the former ways you will not find in the life enough to be thankful for. And you shall not esteem the great pleasure of the grand purpose of glorifying God in all things and so you would live as though you were still dead. So, give consideration to what was not before you received the gift of grace so that you might appreciate and fully embrace the grace that is yours.

Prayer

                Our Father in Heaven may we not forget that we were once children of wraith and citizens in the city of destruction. May we not forget our chains and our fruitless toils. May we not forget the tyranny of sin that reigned over us and in us to our ruination so that we were dead. May we not forget the evil of the former ways so that we might always remember with thankful hearts what great grace is ours in Christ. May we delight in life having been dead, and worship in all our living You who made us alive. To You be all glory. In the name of Christ, the Lord. Amen.

Songs

And can it be?

Gladly would I leave behind by Sovereign Grace

Turn your eyes upon Jesus

Be Thou my vision

Come praise and glorify

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Last Conversation with Grandad

  The Last Conversation with Granddad; A Eulogy for Marshall Helms             There is so much that needs to be done, and so precious little time. There are some here who need comfort, and some who need assurance, and some who need encouragement, and some who need to be admonished. Yes, there is much to do, and precious little time. So, let us pray. Father, the task before me is overwhelming, and I have no strength for it. Abide with me please that in my weakness Your strength might be perfectly evidence, and Your word might go forth today to accomplish all Your good and perfect will. I ask it for the sake of Your glory, In the name of Jesus. Amen.             It has been rightly said that it is not wrong to mourn. Indeed, in Matthew 5 our Lord says those who mourn are blessed for they will be comforted. We mourn death because it is unnatural. It discomforts us bec...
Read more

Against work addiction

  It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. Psalm 127:2 ESV             When work becomes anxious toil, something has gone wrong. Something has gone wrong in our society when it comes to work. Several decades ago, Wayne Oats coined a new word, “Workaholic” to describe addiction to work.   The description Oats came up resonates with the psalmist describes. Anxious toiling, long hours, and little if any enjoyment of the work itself or the fruits of the toil. Addiction is another word for slavery, and it is easy to be enslaved by the anxiety over our work for it drives to work more, and that increases our anxiety while also burning through psychological energies.             Not only is workaholism addiction/slavery, it is idolatry for if we stop to think about it the workaholic ...
Read more

Up and ahead

              Sometimes we are blindsided by a sudden shift in life. We thought we were on stable ground, and then someone starts shouting at us in a routine meeting, or tells us we don’t have a job anymore on a Monday morning, or a loved one leaves on Friday evening with no plans to return. We are left with broken piece of something that once made a kind of sense to us. We knew, and now we do not know.             Where is God? We can’t see Him anymore. We cannot understand where He went to, or what he was thinking. We trusted Him, didn’t we? Now look where we are… It is the better part of wisdom to be quiet when these calamities come to visit and to wait. It is the one wise thing Job’s friend did, when first they saw the plight of the miserable man, they only wept with him.             When later they decided to...
Read more