What does it mean to glorify God and enjoy Him?
We have to answer this question as the Westminster catechism claims this as the chief end of man. The purpose of man’s life. We have already answered the question of where we have come from. That is, the origins of man. Now the next question, what is our purpose in life?
I have come across many abstract answers, but i realized that the answer from the bible is clear and simple. In fact, it fills the entire bible. It would help if we first we answer the question. What’s our relationship with Him?
Romans 8:14-15 “All those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, Abba, Father!”
Galatians 4:6-7 “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father! So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”
Our relationship with Him is not just God and follower. It is much more intimate. We, by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, can address God as Abba, Father! Abba denotes a very intimate term, similar to Daddy. The way Jesus recognize His Father, this recognition is placed in our hearts for us to similarly address God as Father. In short, He is our heavenly Father.
Having established that relationship, I think its easy to know how to glorify Him and enjoy Him.
Put in a simpler manner, how do you glorify your earthly father (dad) and enjoy him?
Glorifying God
We glorify our fathers by obeying them. By loving them. By looking up to them. By honoring them, exalting them, being thankful to them for their upbringing, not bringing shame to their name with our own foolish actions, and basically everything we do, we do it in consideration for them.
The same goes for our Heavenly Father to glorify Him. How you glorify your earthly father, you glorify your Heavenly Father. Of course our earthly father might fall short in certain areas. But do we ourselves who have become fathers fall short? Yet we still try to glorify them. What more a perfect, holy, righteous, all loving, all merciful Heavenly Father?
Enjoying God
Next, how do we enjoy God? The same way we enjoy our earthly fathers, only that this joy we enjoy in our Heavenly Fathers far surpasses the joy we have in our earthly fathers in time, space and nature. I love my earthly father. In fact, Ephesians 6:1-3 teaches us to both obey and honor our parents. But above that, we are to love our Heavenly Father more than our earthly father.
We enjoy our earthly father’s presence with us even without materials. He protects us, we know we are safe with him, we have peace. He loves us, provides for us, sacrifices for us.
What more we can enjoy our Heavenly Father’s presence with us, His peace with us through the abolishing of His wrath upon us by the blood of Christ, again His love for us by sending Christ to die for us, His providence for us always giving us our daily bread, His protection for us through His Word, His church, leading us away from evil, from temptation, and His future reward for us.
I hope that the above has helped you in understanding what it means to glorify and enjoy God as the utmost purpose of our lives.
Psalm 86:12-13 “I will praise you with all my heart, Lord my God, and will honor your name forever. For your faithful love for me is great, and you deliver my life from the depths of Sheol.”
We have to answer this question as the Westminster catechism claims this as the chief end of man. The purpose of man’s life. We have already answered the question of where we have come from. That is, the origins of man. Now the next question, what is our purpose in life?
I have come across many abstract answers, but i realized that the answer from the bible is clear and simple. In fact, it fills the entire bible. It would help if we first we answer the question. What’s our relationship with Him?
Romans 8:14-15 “All those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, Abba, Father!”
Galatians 4:6-7 “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His son into our hearts, crying, “Abba, Father! So you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”
Our relationship with Him is not just God and follower. It is much more intimate. We, by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, can address God as Abba, Father! Abba denotes a very intimate term, similar to Daddy. The way Jesus recognize His Father, this recognition is placed in our hearts for us to similarly address God as Father. In short, He is our heavenly Father.
Having established that relationship, I think its easy to know how to glorify Him and enjoy Him.
Put in a simpler manner, how do you glorify your earthly father (dad) and enjoy him?
Glorifying God
We glorify our fathers by obeying them. By loving them. By looking up to them. By honoring them, exalting them, being thankful to them for their upbringing, not bringing shame to their name with our own foolish actions, and basically everything we do, we do it in consideration for them.
The same goes for our Heavenly Father to glorify Him. How you glorify your earthly father, you glorify your Heavenly Father. Of course our earthly father might fall short in certain areas. But do we ourselves who have become fathers fall short? Yet we still try to glorify them. What more a perfect, holy, righteous, all loving, all merciful Heavenly Father?
Enjoying God
Next, how do we enjoy God? The same way we enjoy our earthly fathers, only that this joy we enjoy in our Heavenly Fathers far surpasses the joy we have in our earthly fathers in time, space and nature. I love my earthly father. In fact, Ephesians 6:1-3 teaches us to both obey and honor our parents. But above that, we are to love our Heavenly Father more than our earthly father.
We enjoy our earthly father’s presence with us even without materials. He protects us, we know we are safe with him, we have peace. He loves us, provides for us, sacrifices for us.
What more we can enjoy our Heavenly Father’s presence with us, His peace with us through the abolishing of His wrath upon us by the blood of Christ, again His love for us by sending Christ to die for us, His providence for us always giving us our daily bread, His protection for us through His Word, His church, leading us away from evil, from temptation, and His future reward for us.
I hope that the above has helped you in understanding what it means to glorify and enjoy God as the utmost purpose of our lives.
Psalm 86:12-13 “I will praise you with all my heart, Lord my God, and will honor your name forever. For your faithful love for me is great, and you deliver my life from the depths of Sheol.”
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