Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– Woodrow Kroll
To Glorify God
Part of Jesus’ purpose was to bring glory to the Father, as He said, “I have brought you glory on Earth by completing the work you have given me to do” (John 17:4). So we should also seek to “declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples” (Psalm 96:3)! God wants us to “ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength,” and again He says, “Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name” (Psalm 96:7-8a). We were made to glorify God just as the creation was (Psalm 19:1).
To Bear Fruit
If we bear fruit of the Holy Spirit by abiding in Jesus and His Word, which is essentially the Bible, we can glorify God, as Jesus says, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). The first point is that we can’t bear any fruit at all apart from Christ. The only thing we can do of ourselves is nothing! And nothing is not a little something. Only if we abide in Christ can we bear godly fruit, and it is by this fruit-bearing that Jesus says, “My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples” (John 15:8).
To Do Good
Paul writes to the church at Ephesus that “we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:10). Imagine that! God created us, and we are His workmanship for the intention of doing good works. He prepared these things for us to do beforehand (or before we even existed!) so that “we should walk in them.” We know good works don’t save us (Eph 2:8-9), but a saved person will do good works as a result of their salvation. When we feed the hungry, give a drink to the thirsty, make a stranger feel welcome, clothe the naked, go to the sick, or visit those in prison (Matt 25:37-39), Jesus says, “As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matt 25:40).
To Preach the Gospel
We have a mandate from God, direct marching orders from Jesus to take the gospel into all the world (Matt 28:19-20; Acts 1:8), and this is also God’s purpose for our life. Why didn’t God take us up to heaven the moment we were saved? It’s because He wants us to reach out to the lost and bring as many as God allows into the kingdom. We are not responsible for saving anyone, only preaching the gospel, but let me tell you that there is such joy and peace after witnessing to someone that it truly does give my life meaning. It is hard to describe in words, but, surely, fulfilling the Great Commission gives my life meaning, and I’m sure it will give your life meaning, too.
Conclusion
God created us to glorify Him; to do good works for Him, which also glorifies Him; to bear godly fruit, which glorifies Him; and finally to preach the gospel to the lost. All of these are God’s purpose for our lives, and when we fulfill God’s purpose for our life, it gives life meaning.
