The Goal
""Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.""
(Psalm 46:10)
"More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus
my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but
rubbish so that I may gain Christ,"
(Philippians 3:8)
"We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching
every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ. For
this purpose also I labor, striving according
to His power, which mightily works within me."
(Colossians 1:28-29)
What is your goal? What
are you aiming at? By what do you
measure if a day, week, month, year, or lifetime is ‘successful'? What do you want to look back at and see
accomplished?
In short, what brings you the most JOY?
Henry David Thoreau said, ‘The mass of men lead lives of
quiet desperation.’ This quote
resonates with so many because it seems life is full of unfulfilled dreams,
frustrated plans, and unmet expectations.
During this COVID-19 crisis we may be excused for thinking more along
these lines because our circumstances – from the calamitous to the merely
annoying – seem unavoidably to prevent us from doing what we want to do and
seeing the results we want to see.
It need not be so.
God’s word tells us to cease striving for lesser goals, grab
hold of a worthy goal that is guaranteed to be accomplished, and to strive
mightily in it.
How hard would you work toward a goal that is guaranteed to
be accomplished?
You see, God will be exalted. Jesus Christ is infinitely
supreme. God will conform people
infinitely into the image of Christ (see also Romans 8:29-30, 1 John 3:1-3).
Do all of your goals relate to – even submit to – THAT? If not, why not?
Consider the following words of Scripture (emphasis mine).
The words of the Apostle Paul in explaining God’s purposes
for His people:
"And we know that God
causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those
who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also
predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would
be the firstborn among many brethren;" (Romans
8:28-29)
The words of God quoted by Isaiah regarding God’s purposes
for His people (echoed also by Jesus in John 15:16):
"Let me sing now for my
well-beloved
A song of my beloved
concerning His vineyard.
My well-beloved had a
vineyard on a fertile hill.
He dug it all around, removed
its stones,
And planted it with the
choicest vine.
And He built a tower in the
middle of it
And also hewed out a wine vat
in it;
Then He expected it to
produce good grapes,
But it produced only
worthless ones.
"And now, O inhabitants
of Jerusalem and men of Judah,
Judge between Me and My
vineyard.
"What more was there
to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it?
Why, when I expected it to
produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones?"
(Isaiah 5:1-4)
The words of King Solomon reflecting on the difficulty and
apparent futility of life:
"I know that everything
God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is
nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear Him." (Ecclesiastes 3:14)
Isaiah quoted God’s words on Israel’s pending calamity:
"That men may know
from the rising to the setting of the sun
That there is no one
besides Me.
I am the LORD, and there
is no other,
The One forming light and
creating darkness,
Causing well-being and creating
calamity;
I am the LORD who does all
these."
(Isaiah 45:6-7)
The words of the Apostle Paul in explaining God’s purposes
for the world:
"and He made from one
man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having
determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that
they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him,
though He is not far from each one of us;" (Acts 17:26-27)
These are but a taste of the testimony of the Bible that God
is working all things perfectly so that people everywhere would seek Him, know
Him, and become like Jesus.
God is working all things toward that end. Are you?
If not, you may well be eternally frustrated.
If so, you will experience supernatural energy and eternal
JOY.
You may well look back at your days, weeks, months, years,
and life and see God glorified and you and others transformed into the image of
Christ.
Is there a greater goal?
In His Grip,
Mark Twombly
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