Why do you do what you do? I thought that a few months ago while preparing a message that I was going to share with a group in my church, and I think it’s an appropriate question.
At first glance, it is a simple question. Actually, it is complex.
The answer may reveal which “god” we are worshiping, what our idols are, and where our heart is inclined. It is a question that can be answered in a superficial way or in a deep way.
Again and again, the question came to me in several ways: why do you wake up in the morning? Why do you go to work or university? Why do you have the conversations you have with your friends? Why do you want to teach others about Jesus?
The truth is that the only way to live according to God’s plan for our lives, being young because of it, begins by answering this question. And the answer to it should be: “To glorify God.” Everything we do must serve that purpose (1 Cor. 10:31). In Isaiah 43 we read that the Lord tells his people:
“But now, thus says the Lord your Creator, O Jacob, and he who formed you, O Israel: ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name; You are mine … To everyone who is called by My name and to whom I have created for My glory, whom I have formed and whom I have made ”, Isaiah 43: 1, 7.
If we are in Christ, those words are for us. God is our creator and the One who formed us. He has the authority to tell us how and what to live for. He reminds us that he has given us freedom by redeeming us; We are yours. We were not made to be successful and happy according to what society says (although living for His glory will actually make us successful and happy), but we were created to glorify God.
If we take a baseball to play soccer we can kick it, run from side to side with it, or even score a goal with it. But that ball was not created for that. She was made for another sport. He throws himself with his hands, hits him with the bat. Using it differently will never be the same as it would be if we use it well. Likewise, we can use and live our lives in many ways in this world, but we will not find real meaning and satisfaction until we live in Christ for the glory of God.
We can only be light in the midst of darkness when we live embracing the glory of God as a purpose for our lives.
We can only be light in the midst of darkness when we live embracing the glory of God as a purpose for our lives. If she is not our motivation to get up every morning, it will be very difficult to shine in the midst of this perverse and crooked generation (Phil. 2:15).
You need to have firm convictions in God to remain firm while surrounded by non-Christians and a culture with points opposite to the Word, which invites you to see life only horizontally and not vertically, and that constantly presents you with a reality. where man is the center of all things and not God.
I want to encourage you to three vital convictions that by the grace of God will lead you to live for their cause and for his glory:
1. A firm conviction of who God is
To be light in the midst of darkness you must know the source of where our light emanates. If we do not know God, his character, his attributes, his plans, and his will, it will be impossible to resist the attacks and temptations around us. It will be impossible to shine. As AW Tozer said in his book The Knowledge of a Holy God:
“The history of mankind has indicated that no people have risen to levels higher than their religion, and it has shown that no religion has ever been greater than their concept of God. The worship will be pure, or low, depending on where the worshiper has God. ” [one]
In the same book, Tozer presents a truth that has been liberating for me:
“The man who arrives at some correct beliefs regarding God is relieved of a thousand temporary problems, because he sees at once that they have to do with issues that, at most, cannot concern him for a long time; but even if the numerous burdens of time could be taken away from him, the powerful burden of eternity begins to weigh upon him with a more crushing weight than all the sufferings of the world piled one upon another. ” [2]
A correct vision about God transforms our vision over everything else.
A correct vision about God transforms our vision over everything else. It allows us to live in true freedom, in the midst of all circumstances and understanding the treasure we have:
“But we have this treasure in clay vessels, so that the excellence of power is from God, and not from us, that we are troubled in everything, but not distressed; in trouble, but not desperate; persecuted, but not helpless; knocked down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also manifests in our bodies ”, 2 Corinthians 4: 7-10.
The believer is like the moon. We can shine in the dark just because we reflect the light of a major star. Just as the moon reflects sunlight, we are called to reflect that of Christ. Therefore, it is necessary to know him more every day.
2. A firm conviction of who you are
Man is the bearer of the image of God (Gen. 1:26). We were endowed with the highest dignity, which is related to being able to make use of the attributes that He gave us. However, the image of God in man has been stained due to sin. All our actions and thoughts are affected as a result of the Fall.
Thinking that he could occupy the lordship of God and set him aside, man lost his own life as a result of his sin. Now the rebellion is at the very center of his person, what is known as the heart, and that rebellion has altered his own constitution, perverting his nature. As RC Sproul once said: “Man is not a sinner because he sins, he sins because he is a sinner.” [3]
We must remember each day our need for Jesus and how little we can do for God for ourselves.
We are men and women with sins, weaknesses, and wounds that can prevent us from shining and reflecting the light of the Lord. Therefore, we must remember each day our need for Jesus and the little we can do for God for ourselves.
This implies knowing ourselves well: knowing what our strengths are, our weaknesses, what we can expose ourselves to, what conversations we can start and which ones we should avoid, and more. The knowledge of ourselves allows us to set limits that help us not to fall and faint in the middle of the dark nights.
However, the limits are not enough to make you shine. You need to remember daily what you are in Christ. We are Children of God (John 1:12). When he sees you, he does not accept you thanks to your achievements or looks at you according to your sin, but sees you covered in the righteousness of Christ (Rom. 5: 1). Therefore, He sees Christ, his beloved Son in whom he is pleased (Mt. 3:17). In addition, He has made you an ambassador for you to represent him before the world (2 Cor. 5:20).
You are part of a people chosen by God, according to their will (Eph. 1: 3-5), in a special way and with a purpose: “But you are chosen lineage, royal priesthood, holy nation, people acquired for God’s possession, so that they may announce the virtues of the One who called them from darkness to His admirable light ”(1 Pet. 2: 9). We are a nation under one King. We have only one flag, only one passport, and it is that of Christ.
Just as laser light can pass through hard surfaces when it is well focused, the knowledge of ourselves allows us to focus in our lives the light of Christ to fulfill its virtues in the face of any opposition against the truth.
3. A firm conviction of what the gospel is
The gospel is a message that shows us that we are accountable to our Creator and deserve to be judged for our rebellion before Him. Now man is an enemy of God (Ro, 5:10), slave of sin (Ro. 6:17) , and has a dark understanding (2 Cor. 4: 4).
But God in his grace acted through Jesus Christ to save us and transform us. Immediately after the Fall of Adam and Eve, God showed his grace by promising a redeemer, the One who would destroy the works of the evil one and restore what was damaged by sin (Gen. 3:15). That redeemer is Jesus. Being a Person of the Trinity, he became incarnate and lived the life we could not live, suffered the death we deserve to suffer, and rose again proclaiming his victory and the life He promises for those who believe in Him.
The gospel message should not be seen only as an instrument for salvation, but should be the foundation of all our faith.
Man must respond to this message bearing fruit of repentance, acknowledging his need for forgiveness, and Christ as the only way to find him (Rom. 10: 8-10). This need of the gospel does not disappear after our conversion. Every day we must say to God: “Lord, I need you. Forgive my sins through Jesus. I regret those things that do not allow me to show who you are. Fill me with you. ”
The gospel message should not be seen only as an instrument for salvation, but should be the foundation of all our faith, to which we constantly return by our dependence on Christ.
God has revealed the gospel so that we can live full lives by recognizing our hunger for Him and that we are not worthy of anything, that all we have is by pure grace. Condemned sinners are now declared beloved children! There is not and will not be a more beautiful truth. That is why we must embrace it in order to shine in this dark world.
Being light and living like a young man for his cause in the midst of the culture around us can often feel like a difficult task … and it is only if we want to fend for ourselves. It is difficult only if we think that our purposes are above those of God. It is difficult if we do not remember the character of our Lord. It’s hard if we don’t consider what God says we are. And it is difficult if we forget the gospel that gives us life and sustains us.
Be a young man who lives for his cause. Have these convictions and trust the power of the Holy Spirit to use you and continue transforming your life.
[1] AW Tozer, The Knowledge of the Holy God (Editorial Vida, 1996), p. 7.
[2] Ibid, p. 9.
[3] RC Sproul, The interference of sin .
Source: TGC