Living for the Glory of God

I started listening to John Piper's "Don't Waste Your Life" Regional Conf. this morning and was challenged by the truth that God does all things for His Glory and that the essence of a wasted life is to not recognize that truth and to not live your life for the purpose of Glorifying God in all things.

Initially this sounds very theological and you may feel the temptation to avoid it and focus on more practical things, but let me admonish that there is nothing more practical, nor fundamental to our everyday lives than recognizing God's passion for His glory and our responsibility to glorify God in all things. 

This is a weighty matter and I believe requires, prayer, perseverance, meditation, practice, and most of all the Spirit to effectively appropriate this truth.

I want to put down some of the scriptures and thoughts that I had this morning for meditative purposes and in order to package this truth in such a way that it is easier for me to process and apply.

The Scripture makes it very clear that the purpose of God in all things is to Glorify himself.
The Heavens declare the Glory of God:
Ps 19:1-4
The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. 2 Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. 3 There is no speech nor language Where their voice is not heard. 4 Their line has gone out through all the earth, And their words to the end of the world. NKJV

The Earth declares the Glory of God:
Isa 6:3 And one cried to another and said:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts;
The whole earth is full of His glory!"

Jesus declared the Glory of God:
John 17:4 I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do"  NKJV

Paul declared the Glory of God:
Phil 1:20-21 "20 according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified (Glorified) in my body, whether by life or by death." NKJV

Additional verses:
Isa 43:6-7
Bring My sons from afar, And My daughters from the ends of the earth --7 Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him." NKJV

Israel:
Ps 106:7-8 "7 Our fathers in Egypt did not understand Your wonders; They did not remember the multitude of Your mercies, But rebelled by the sea -- the Red Sea. 8 Nevertheless He saved them for His name's sake, That He might make His mighty power known." NKJV

The Gentiles:
Rom 15:7-9
Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.8 Now I say that Jesus Christ has become a servant to the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers,9 and that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy,  NKJV

The Heavens declare the Glory of God, The Earth is full of the Glory of God, The angels give glory to God, Israel was chosen for the glory of God, the gentiles were saved to the glory of God, Paul lived to the glory of God, Jesus lived to the glory of God, and the absolute purpose of my life is to glorify God in all things.

1 Cor 10:31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God
NKJV
I am to glorify God in my marriage, in my parenting, in my eating, in my drinking, in my playing, in my money, in my work, in my serving, thru all of these things I am to magnify the greatness of Christ.

Questions I ask myself:

• Do I demonstrate that Christ is more precious to me than food, entertainment, money, career, reputation, sports, sex, hobbies, etc...

Note: Not that any of these things are wrong in and of themselves, but do I give greater value and worth to these things than I do Christ Himself?

• Are they more glorious than He is? Rom. 1:21 "Althought they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful...v. 25 Instead of believing what they knew was the truth about God, they deliberately chose to believe lies. So they worshiped the things God made but not the Creator himself, who is to be praised forever. Amen.

For me, I shamefully admit that I have greater affection and committment to some of these things than I do Christ. I find myself glorying more in created things than the Creator. For me, this is when I am guilty of "wasting my life"
I am to show in whatever I do that Christ is more precious to me than anything.
David said,
Ps 63:3 "Your unfailing love is better to me than life itself; how I praise you! " NLT
God's love towards David meant more to Him than anything in the world, even more than life itself.
Very much like the Apostle Paul when He said "to die is gain", Christ was better to him than anything in this life.  Paul saw it as "Far better to depart and be with Christ"  This is glorifying Christ above all things. 
I am to join in w/ all of creation and declare the glory of God thru the giving of my praise, my possessions, and my person. (Rom. 12:1-2; Heb. 13:15-16)
I glorify God by treasuring His Word above all things and seeking to live my life as a husband, father, servant, steward, according to God's will revealed in scripture, not my will or the standard set by our culture.
There is no way that I can share all the different ways we are to glorify God by the way we live our lives as parents, spouses, servants, stewards, etc...according to the scriptures. You will have to study those things for yourself, but we should desire to know what God's will is in each area so that we may glorify Him in all we do.
I will close w/ this verse though it probably should have been inserted earlier.
As we seek to live a life that cherishes Christ above all things, let us find encouragement in the words Jesus prayed in John 17.
John 17:26
26 And I have declared to them Your name, and will declare it, that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them." NKJV

I have never seen this before, but Jesus literally asked the Father to give us the same love with which He loved the Son.
Jesus would not have asked this if were not possible. 

We can ask the Father, and by the Spirit, the love of the Father for the Son can be imparted to us!
This gives me Hope! This gives me encouragement!

As I strive, and as I grow in Grace, through the scriptures, and by the help of the Holy Spirit, I can live my life to the Glory of God, for which I was created.