All things were created by God for His glory which includes you and me. The Psalmist wrote: Psalms 8:4-8 ESV 4. What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? 5. Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. 6. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, 7. all sheep and oxen, and the beasts of the field, 8. the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
God didn’t create us to live just by instinct but to live relational with Him. With our free will, we allowed the allure of self-determination (sin of rebellion) to lead us down a different path. We became self-important human beings, basing our beliefs upon varied views and creative theories. We find ourselves constantly rating everything consciously and unconsciously in our lives. There are things we decide are important to us and things that are not, as well as things that mean a lot. We are eager to sacrifice for some things and refuse to sacrifice for the greater good of other things. We will grieve the loss of one thing while celebrating the loss of another. We love what is detestable to another person and we treasure the things that others see as worthless. Some things receive the allegiance of our hearts, while things of eternal value barely get our attention.
In general mankind has digressed to a lower standard of what God purposed for us. We are living beneath our privileges and promises that have been bestowed upon us.
In all this, we strive in life to be successful in our endeavors. No rational human being lives and works hard to be a failure. Many times, our view of success is entirely different from God’s view of success… which matters most if our ultimate goal is to be in His eternal presence. Who wants to get to the end of it all, only to look back and realize that they invested in things that had no eternal value?
In contrast with our view of success, God has offered us success by the work of His Son. He offers us things of supreme and unmerited value (His forgiveness, His presence, His Holy Spirit, His kingdom, a clean conscience and a pure heart). These are eternally valued gifts of grace. What kind of success are you looking for ?… to please man or God who created you for eternity?
Let our love for others be motivated by a pure and sincere Heart.
If you need friendship, you can find it in our Chapel. Please join us at the Villages Community Chapel in Cribari Auditorium, every Sunday at 10 a.m. to be encouraged over the Word and enjoy a cup of coffee and cookies with friends. The chapel is a place for needs to be met, faith to be affirmed and new friends to embrace.
You can view our worship services on YouTube at Villages Community Chapel San Jose, CA.