Living out life's purpose

You would have often heard it said that ‘Man is the crown of God’s creation. Generally it is used in the sense that having been created in God’s own image, we are the highest forms of life, more glorious than animals and even angels. However, it is also true in another sense. Just as a crown gives glory to the King who wears it, our purpose in life as crown on God’s head is to bring him the Glory that he is worthy of.

The Bible affirms that man's purpose in life as intended by God is to bring glory to HIM. Peter tells the church (I Pet 2:9), "you are a chosen people . . . that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkeness into his wonderful light". Paul writes to the Ephesians (Eph 1:11,12), "In him we were also chosen . . . in order that we . . . might be for the praise of his glory". Man finds ultimate fulfillment when he serves this purpose. Often we look at our accomplishments and material success hoping they will give us fulfillment, but at the end we find only weariness in life. Our heart finds true pleasure in being in fellowship with God. In the Bible, 'Glorifying God' has been expressed in different ways as "declaring his praise", "worshiping" and so on.

God's purpose for man is so unmistakeable in the Bible, that you can find it from Genesis (Gen 4:3,4) right till Revelation (Rev 22:9).

Meaningful Worship

NOW, if man was created to declare his praises, is he a VAIN God excessively concerned about how great he is that he can be deceived by flattery which is passed off as praise? Does God fall for sycophancy and dole out blessings, like our politicians do?

The Bible says that God discerns 'flattery' from 'genuine praise'. The Psalmist sings of such people "they would flatter him with their mouths, lying to him with their tongues; their hearts were not loyal to him, they were not faithful to his covenant" (Psa 78:35-37). God accepts only the praise that comes from a loving heart and his word says that if we love God, we will obey his commandments.

He is not deceived by the quality or sophistication of our 'praise' when our heart is not loyal to him. He says of the offerings by people who have not listened to his words and have rejected his law, "What do I care about incense from Sheba or sweet calamus from a distant land? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable; your sacrifices do not please me".(Jer 6:19,20)

We are not to approach "praise" as a success-formula or as a ‘Guaranteed to work’ methodology for obtaining God’s favour, as is often made out by some. Of such people, the Lord says "These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men".(Isa 29:13).

God is not interested in mindless worship that one indulges in as a matter of mere habit/routine. The Lord speaks to prophet Ezekiel, "My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice". He knows when worship is born out of a selfish greed that hopes to gain from praising God. He tells the prophet, "With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain". He discerns when worship becomes mere entertainment. "Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice" (Eze 33:31,32).

Beyond lip-service

True worship from a loving and obedient heart is not confined to just community and private prayer. Deriving fulfilment from serving life's purpose too, is not limited to just Sundays and quiet hours. In fact, God expects us to be a living sacrifice (Rom 12:1). We can do that by striving to glorify God in all that we do. When we do not seek our own good but the good of others, we cause many to praise their creator (I Cor 10:31-33, Mat 5:16). When we look at ourselves as stewards of all the blessings we receive and help God bless the whole world through us - his body - we glorify God as we turn multitude of hearts to be thankful towards their creator (Heb 13:16, II Cor 9:8). This is how we can praise God, round the clock, all days of the week, around the year and be a living sacrifice.

Let us find meaning in life, through worship that is acceptable and pleasing to God. Let our worship come from a heart that is overflowing with love for God and thankfulness for HIS love. Let it not come out of greed or as a matter of following a rule. Let us ask God to help us understand His love so that our hearts will overflow with love for Him and offer genuine praise. Let us extend this meaningful worship to all parts of our life, by seeking the good of others and realizing that we are His stewards.

Meaningful worship will not only bring true happiness in this world, but will also earn us our master’s accolade when we meet Him in glory. 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!'

Considering how the heroes lived

Paul exhorted the Jews of his time "Remember your leaders . . . Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith." (Heb 13:7). He had just produced a long list of warriors of faith that reads like a Who's Who of the times past - a Hebrew hall-of-fame - a couple of chapters before making this exhortation. He had also asked them to look up skyward at this great cloud of witnesses and at Jesus the Morning Star, and run with perseverance the race marked out for us, without growing weary and losing heart (Heb 12:1-3). We too will do well to heed this advice and look at the giants of faith amongst our ancestors and in the 20 centuries since Paul's exhortation, and follow their footsteps.

While I would want to look at the faith of some modern-day giants at a future date, today I would like to look closely at the early Patriarchs - Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. All three obeyed God under circumstances that were not conducive.

Abraham's was a life of faith - believing he will be a father when he was without child and already 99 years old, believing he will be a father of nations when he had just one child, and obeying God's command to sacrifice even this only begotten son -- a bundle of joy he had awaited for atleast 25 years if not more . . . And it all began about 25 years earlier when the Lord told him "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great Nation." Abraham, then Abram, was a resident of the UR of the Chaldeans. Ur was a thriving city inside Mesopotamia (corresponding to modern Iraq, North-East Syria, South-East Turkey and South-West Iran) - often referred to as the cradle of Civilization. Ur, according to one estimate, was the largest city in the world from 2030 to 1980 B.C. Here was a man who was being called from the most developed part of the world at the time, to an obscure, under-developed part by God. Imagine someone in the U.S. being called by God to go to the dark continent to live among tribals -- not many can palate such a thought, leave alone heeding such a call. And this man, stepped out in faith. The Bible says, he took his wife, his nephew, all the possessions they had accumulated and all the people they had acquired, and set out for the land of Canaan. His caravan would have had to walk across deserts, braving the bandits, defying the desert storms, all in faith on the one who called.

Abraham's son Isaac, we see, had excelled where his distinguished father had failed. Earlier in Abraham's time, there had been a severe famine (Gen 12:10). The Hero of Faith who had journeyed to Canaan all the way from Ur, did not have the faith to stay in Canaan. He had tried to escape famine by running to Egypt and was apparently successful acquiring, livestock, menservants and maidservants. Little would he have realized that one of these Egyptian maidservants - acquired when his faith wavered for once - would prove to be cause for torment not only for him but for all generations. Fourteen chapters later, in Isaac's time, there is again a famine. Isaac was probably contemplating moving to Egypt, while in Gerar among the Philistines, when the Lord tells him "Do not go down to Egypt; live in the land where I tell you to live. Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands . . .(Gen 26:1-3). In verse 12, we find that Isaac planted crops in that land. Imagine someone planting crops during a famine, during years of drought . . . he would have been laughed at. He had faith on the Lord who promised to bless him even when there was a wasting famine around. And we find that he reaped a hundred-fold because the Lord blessed him. He became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very rich. (Gen 26.12,13). Did not Jeremiah say centuries later, "blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit. (Jer 17:7,8) "


Jacob was probably the most unlikely hero. Here was a man trying to be successful in life through deceit. He is now running away from his brother who is seeking his life, anxious for food and clothing, despairing for life itself. His 'gate of heaven' experience at Luz, leads him to place his trust on the Lord. At Paddan Aram, he finds his match in his maternal uncle Laban, who is a master of deceit. He first tricks him into hard-labour for 7 years for a wife, tricks him again into another 7 years for the girl he loved, by marrying off the other daughter through deceit, and attempts to trick him by changing his wages 10 times in the next 6 years. After 20 years of settling in a far-off land, having learnt to thrive under the nose of the deceitful Laban, he hears the Lord telling him "Go back to the land of your fathers and to your relatives, and I will be with you." (Gen 31:3) Paddan Aram is now his home. The one who had just a staff when he came over, now has livestock, menservants, maidservants and two groups (of family). But instead of trusting his possessions, he trusted the Lord who showed him kindness and faithfulness that he was totally unworthy of. He dared to meet his brother again, risking the lives of his wifes, his dear children and his own, in obedience and faith on the one who said "I will make you prosper". (Gen 32:10-12)

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob . . . all were sure of what they hoped for, certain of what they did not see, placing their faith on the one who spoke to them. And God was not ashamed to be called their God. Do we trust God with our lives - having seen God's love and faithfulness expressed unambiguously in his son Jesus ?

Deceitful Pretense

Last week, we looked at the right way to dress up that will bring us growth -- imitating Christ towards perfection. This is a slow and painful process of constantly looking into the mirror of His Word, and being taught, rebuked, corrected and trained in righteousness. (2Tim3:16). This is a process that works inside out. This growth process constantly reminds us about what we lack in love, humility, forgiveness and faithful response to suffering. This reminds us that by ourselves we are selfish, proud, unforgiving and looking out for self-gratification, and that we need to lean heavily on His grace to bring forth the fruit of righteousness.

This is much like how a small manufacturing company would like to emulate a leader that has already grown to enormous proportions. It would want to emulate the engineering processes that guarantee quality work-products, the training methodologies that produce well-equipped work-force, and HR practices that keep the work-force motivated, for the industry-leader. However, this is a slow process that can not be completed overnight. This company would need to identify gaps, bring changes to bridge the gaps, and let the processes, methodologies and practices mature. Growing to be a Son of God is very much the same except that we grow by leaning on HIS grace and not on our own efforts.

Since this is often painfully slow, most of us often look for a quick way to grow. We look out for short-cuts that will quickly take us where we want to be and in the process we are deceived. Since there is no short-cut to growth, we often find ways that give us a feeling of having grown, where in reality we have not progressed much. We start focusing on the outward results without bothering if anything has changed on the inside. This is akin to a small company learning to advertise like a leader while continuing to produce inferior products. Or worse still, a company deciding to produce counterfeits and be an impostor in a market place that has unsuspecting consumers. This is what a desire for quick-gratification often leads us to.

It is the same in the spiritual world too. Paul warns Timothy that in the last days, there will be people 'having a form of godliness but denying its power". On the outward they will look like godly people – either professing to be godly people, or showing themselves to be godly with all external marks of godliness – but denying the fruit of godliness. Instead of loving others more than themselves, they will be lovers of themselves and lovers of money. Instead of regarding others as honorable than themselves, they will be boastful, proud, abusive and disobedient to parents. Instead of forgiving others as they themselves have been forgiven by the Heavenly father, they will be without love, unforgiving, slanderous and brutal. Instead of being patient in suffering, they will be ungrateful, unholy and lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. (2Tim3:2-5)

Why does this happen in the spiritual world? It could be because we, like the Pharisees, love praise from men more than praise from God (John 12:43). The Pharisees loved to pray standing in the synagogues and on street corners to be seen by men (Mat 6:5). When they fasted they looked somber and disfigured their faces to show men they were fasting (Mat 6:16). When they gave to the needy, they announced it with trumpets in public places. Do we spend time with God alone in our rooms more than we spend in community worship? If not, we better beware of the trap of enacting righteousness before men to be seen by them. Jesus warns that such people have received their reward in full.

If we are not playing out to the crowd, we could be playing out to God himself. We do this when we trust God for this life alone and for things of this world. In a world that is heavily focused on wealth, success and fame, we could be attempting to deceive God, hoping to be blessed. We try to hide the dirt inside and hope that God will be pleased by our prayers and praises. But rather than deceiving God, we will be deceiving ourselves. For God is not fooled by our appearances. Paul warns the Ephesians, "No immoral, impure or greedy person has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God . . . for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient (Eph 5:5,6)

A third possibility is that our conscience could have become seared as with a hot iron. We might listen to the word but not do what it says. The Bible likens such a person to a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like (James 1:23,24). Paul calls them as men who are always learning but never acknowledging the truth.

Where do we stand today ? Are we imitating Christ and growing to be like him, or are we being an impostor masquerading as Christ? The difference is in the intention. The imitator is looking up to Christ, while the impostor is looking out to deceive. While we find how fallen we are, we could either be driven to our knees in humility, painfully conscious of our insufficiency and seeking His grace, or we could be driven to put up a facade of righteousness, unwilling to admit our inadequacy. A dangerous line divides the Imitators and Impostors. On which side are you?

Dress Up to grow

Growth is something that we would all like to experience ourselves and see happen in those we love. No matter how lovely a baby's talk is, no mom would be happy to continue to hear the child talk without any improvement in structure and pronounciation. No matter how fascinating an year old's walk is, no pop would be delighted to continue to watch the child stumbling and faltering at every step. It is the same with God about his sons. He wants us to grow by bounds and measures --a figure each day, a form every hour.

Paul writes to Corinthians in I Cor.13:11, "When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me". How does a child grow? A boy keenly observes his father's actions, speech & mannerisms, and tries to imitate him. He tries to copy, duplicate or reproduce the style that his father exhibits, and in the process he grows to be like him. Which is why, we often see the traits of the father in a son. You must have heard people say 'Like Father, Like Son'.

It is the same with the Sons of God. God calls us to learn his ways and imitate him. Jesus cried to the God in Heaven from Gethsamane, calling him "Father". Earlier, he had taught the Sons of men (who would grow to be Sons of God) the Lord's Prayer, teaching them to pray to God calling him 'Our Father in Heaven'. Jesus who said 'Iam the Light of the world'(John 9:5), also told the people who followed him "You are the light of the world (Mat.5:14)". He spoke of his followers as 'not of the world' even as He himself was 'not of the world' (John 17:16). We are called to become like our Father.

Paul instructs us to imitate God. He beseeches us to imitate his attitudes and actions -- his sacrificial love, his humility, his forgiveness, his response to suffering and his faith. We see in Him:

sacrificial love [he came to give his life as a ransom for many (Mat 20:28)];

Paul writes to the Ephesians, "Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.." (Eph 5:1,2) He tells the church at Philipi "Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." (Phil 2:4)

humility [the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve (Mat 20:28)];

Paul challenges the Phillipians to have the same mind as Christ and "do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves." (Phil 2:2,3).

forgiveness [Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing (Luk 23:34)];

Paul sets himself as example in the matter of forgiving others. "We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; when we are slandered, we answer kindly...I urge you to imitate me".(I Cor 4:16-17)

calm response to suffering [yet not my will, but yours be done (Luk 22:42)] and

Paul commends the Thessolonians, "You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. (I Thes 1:6)

faith in His father [into your hands I commit my spirit" (Luk 23:46)]

Finally, Paul exhorts the Hebrew church "Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith." (Heb 13:7)

While we imitate Him, we are growing. While imitating him, we will realize that we are just sons of men who have been asked to imitate the Son of God, so that we are transformed to his likeness. We will come to know our limitations and confines, and learn to depend on His grace. We will then understand that we are not there yet, but we are on our way towards his perfection and need his grace every step of that way. This is the path the Lord has set before us to make us Sons of God. C.S.Lewis calls this process "dressing up as Christ". Let us allow our good Lord to dress each of us as a "Little Christ", for that is the divine purpose to which we have been called.