{"id":248,"date":"2021-01-19T20:12:35","date_gmt":"2021-01-19T20:12:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/176.32.230.18\/swordmagazine.net\/?p=248"},"modified":"2021-02-21T21:01:13","modified_gmt":"2021-02-21T21:01:13","slug":"why","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swordmagazine.net\/?p=248","title":{"rendered":"Editorial &#8211; Why?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>You are here because?&nbsp;<strong>We are reminded of the principal reason for our existence<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>You would think, would you not, that \u201cWhy am I here?\u201d would be every mortal\u2019s most pressing question, but in this unthinking, \u2018post-truth\u2019 age, it is little more than the comic query of the \u2018senior moment\u2019 so familiar to those of us who forget why we just left our armchair and went to the kitchen. Yet, if our few mortal decades \u2018here\u2019 do have a purpose \u2013 and if that purpose has an eternal outcome \u2013 no question or its answer could be more pressing\u2026 Why are we here?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The 17th century theologians who penned the&nbsp;<strong>\u2018Westminster Catechism\u2019&nbsp;<\/strong>summarised the wisdom of God\u2019s Word to provide the answer. The statement is well-known, but its immense implications \u2013 for anyone who draws breath \u2013 are breath-taking:&nbsp;<strong>\u201cMan\u2019s chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever\u201d<\/strong>. That they considered it necessary to state this implies that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>human beings do not automatically discover (or remember) the principal reason for their existence<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>it is possible to be born, live and die without ever discovering one\u2019s \u201cchief end\u201d<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>we are not born knowing how to glorify God \u2013 nor even that we ought to<\/strong><\/li><li><strong>the \u2018enjoying\u2019 of God needs to be taught, because the concept is alien, not naturally perceived<\/strong><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The proof of all this is seen most readily in the practice of \u2018religion\u2019&nbsp;<strong>as it is generally understood.&nbsp;<\/strong>The religious life is generally aimed at&nbsp;<strong>pleasing God and winning His favour.&nbsp;<\/strong>Regular devotions, observance of rituals,&nbsp;<strong>\u2018doing one\u2019s best\u2019&nbsp;<\/strong>to live a good life, comparing personal performance with that of criminals and unbelievers \u2013 all this self-effort is underpinned by uncertain hope. When tragedy strikes, the anxious religious mind immediately asks:&nbsp;<strong>\u201cWhy would God do this to me?\u201d&nbsp;<\/strong>Because,&nbsp;<strong>underlying that question is a vague hope that God is the debtor in the relationship; that He \u2018owes\u2019 something.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>On the other hand \u2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>This is exactly opposite to the way taught by&nbsp;<strong>Jesus&nbsp;<\/strong>and the apostles.&nbsp;<strong>James&nbsp;<\/strong>(proper name Jacob), Our LORD\u2019S brother, defined religion as respected by God: \u201cReligion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.\u201d (James 1:27) He was writing to followers of Jesus Christ who&nbsp;<strong>already enjoy God\u2019s favour<\/strong>, not because of their good works but because of His mercy to sinners. This is total reversal of the \u2018religious\u2019 way&#8230; God does not want orphans and widows used by us to accrue favour with Him. \u201cWe love because He first loved us\u201d (1 John 4:19). We serve not to win His favour but because we&nbsp;<strong>\u2018enjoy\u2019&nbsp;<\/strong>it \u2013 all undeservingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>James is often wrongly contrasted with&nbsp;<strong>Paul&nbsp;<\/strong>\u2013 as if Paul taught justification by faith alone whereas James emphasised the need for faith + good works. This could not possibly be true. When Paul, apostle to the Gentiles first met James,&nbsp;<strong>Peter&nbsp;<\/strong>and&nbsp;<strong>John&nbsp;<\/strong>in Jerusalem fourteen years into his missionary life, he said these&nbsp;<strong>\u2018pillars\u2019&nbsp;<\/strong>of the church \u201cadded nothing to my message\u201d (Galatians 2:6 \u2013 NIV). Not only so, but he made this point in a passionate letter in which the very issue at stake was&nbsp;<strong>\u2018justification by faith\u2019:&nbsp;<\/strong>\u201c\u2026 a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ\u201d (Galatians 2:16) Christianity is not&nbsp;<strong>\u201creligion as generally understood\u201d<\/strong>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Those who busy themselves trying to impress God are clearly not impressed by God. If our chief end is to glorify God, we are not going to do this through religious sweat!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>Now for God\u2019s perspective<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>What then about this two-fold primary reason for our existence? What is the glory of God? How can sinners glorify Him \u2013 and how on earth are we supposed to \u2018<strong>enjoy\u2019&nbsp;<\/strong>Him?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Hebrew word&nbsp;<strong>kavod<\/strong>, most often translated \u2018<strong>glory<\/strong>\u2019 in English Bibles properly relates to the idea of \u2018<strong>weight<\/strong>\u2019. Hence, in Scripture, the words \u2018<strong>glory<\/strong>\u2019, \u2018<strong>honour<\/strong>\u2019, \u2018<strong>splendour<\/strong>\u2019 and \u2018<strong>wealth<\/strong>\u2019 are often used interchangeably to convey the \u2018<strong>weightiness<\/strong>\u2019 of a person or a thing. Thus,&nbsp;<strong>kavod&nbsp;<\/strong>is variously&nbsp;<strong>Jacob\u2019s&nbsp;<\/strong>\u2018<strong>wealth<\/strong>\u2019 (Genesis 31:1),&nbsp;<strong>Joseph\u2019s&nbsp;<\/strong>\u2018<strong>honour\u2019 \/ authority&nbsp;<\/strong>(Genesis 45:13), the \u2018<strong>glory<\/strong>\u2019 of the LORD Himself \u2013 such that&nbsp;<strong>Moses&nbsp;<\/strong>could not enter the&nbsp;<strong>Tent of Meeting&nbsp;<\/strong>(Exodus 40:34-35) and the \u2018<strong>splendour<\/strong>\u2019 of God\u2019s kingdom (Psalm 145;12). One other interesting usage seems to be a synonym for the burdened heart or soul (Genesis 49:6) of dying Jacob who can\u2019t forget the shame of&nbsp;<strong>Simeon&nbsp;<\/strong>and&nbsp;<strong>Levi\u2019s&nbsp;<\/strong>murderous vengeance at Shechem.&nbsp;<strong>Kavod&nbsp;<\/strong>is also the Psalmist\u2019s entire \u2018<strong>being<\/strong>\u2019 poured into his adoring worship of God (Psalm 108:1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, lest we forget that earth\u2019s vocabulary struggles to express the terrible uniqueness of God, Scripture provides snapshots that remind us to define&nbsp;<strong>His&nbsp;<\/strong>glory with awed reverence and holy fear. Our mortal tendency to reduce the&nbsp;<strong>Infinite&nbsp;<\/strong>to our own measurements draws a stern warning from the Almighty: \u201cThese things you have done and I kept silent; you thought I was altogether like you. But I will rebuke you and accuse you to your face\u201d. (Psalm 50:21)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, is God \u2018<strong>precious<\/strong>\u2019 about His glory? Does He become petulant and vengeful if we soil His reputation? Consider and question the need for such questions: Jesus \u201c\u2026who had always been God by nature, did not cling to his prerogatives as God&#8217;s equal, but stripped himself of all privilege by consenting to be a slave by nature and being born as mortal man. And, having become man, he humbled himself by living a life of utter obedience, even to the extent of dying, and the death he died was the death of a common criminal. That is why God has now lifted him so high, and has given him the name beyond all names, so that at the name of Jesus \u2018every knee shall bow\u2019, whether in Heaven or earth or under the earth. And that is why, in the end, \u2018every tongue shall confess\u2019 that Jesus Christ is the Lord, to the glory of God the Father.\u201d (Philippians 2:5 \u2013 Phillips) Note that a \u201c<strong>mortal man<\/strong>\u201d revealed the \u201c<strong>glory of God<\/strong>\u201d. We are not finished with this thought\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>What does the Bible say?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Moses\u2019 first encounter with the glory of the LORD required God\u2019s own protection. The Almighty hid His servant in the cleft of a rock and permitted only a filtered \u2018<strong>back view<\/strong>\u2019, lest Moses\u2019s mortality be overwhelmed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In&nbsp;<strong>Isaiah\u2019s&nbsp;<\/strong>vision of the Lord\u2019s glory, the cherubim cried&nbsp;<strong>\u2018Holy!\u2019&nbsp;<\/strong>three times \u2013 underscoring the utter uniqueness of the one (or Three in One) \u201chigh and lifted up\u201d, whose glory is not to be compared with anything or anyone considered glorious on earth. The angelic chorus that \u201cthe whole earth is full of His glory\u201d (Isaiah 6:3) equates to King&nbsp;<strong>David\u2019s&nbsp;<\/strong>\u201cthe heavens declare the glory of God\u201d (Psalm 19:1). Prophet and Psalmist both affirm that all of creation is God\u2019s showroom. His awesome majesty and power are incrementally displayed for the appreciation of our limited minds.&nbsp;<strong>The skies are a classroom, nature\u2019s artless beauty is a wordless sermon, a child\u2019s first cry is an unskilled prayer, the raw power of the ocean a humbling theology\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Most riveting of all the Bible snapshots of God\u2019s glory is the&nbsp;<strong>Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus<\/strong>, recorded by&nbsp;<strong>Mark<\/strong>,&nbsp;<strong>Matthew&nbsp;<\/strong>and&nbsp;<strong>Luke<\/strong>. While Matthew tells us that \u201chis face shone like the sun and His clothes became white as light\u201d (17:2) and Luke (usually our \u2018<strong>go to<\/strong>\u2019 for detail) says only that \u201cthe appearance of His face was altered, and his clothing became dazzling white\u201d (9:29), it takes Mark\u2019s breathless account to give us the detail that \u201chis clothes became radiant, intensely white, as no launderer on earth could bleach them\u201d. (9:3)Whatever was happening in that moment, mortal eyes were enabled to see and record God\u2019s glory shining through His Son as \u2018light with no darkness in it\u2019. Clearly their eyesight was protected to enable them to see what would normally have blinded them.&nbsp;<strong>We can\u2019t look directly at the sun, but Peter, James and John could look directly at the Son&nbsp;<\/strong>who was and is \u201cthe radiance of God&#8217;s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word\u2026\u201d (Hebrews 1:3). \u201cIn Christ lives all the fulness of the Deity in bodily form\u201d said Paul (Colossians 2:9) \u2013 but there is a mind-blowing lesson for us here that we must not miss\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3><strong>And the bottom line is \u2026<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In the transfiguration, the fullness of God\u2019s flawless glory was revealed in \u201cthe Man, Christ Jesus\u201d. Of course, we have no difficulties ascribing glory to Jesus. He is also God is he not? Yes, but His perfect humanity has awesome implications for us who believe. This is the glory of God in a man!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The transfiguration permitted by sight, what could only be seen by faith in Bethlehem\u2019s baby<\/strong>. Old&nbsp;<strong>Simeon&nbsp;<\/strong>and&nbsp;<strong>Anna&nbsp;<\/strong>recognised the child as God\u2019s&nbsp;<strong>Messiah<\/strong>, not because they saw His glory, but because decades of prayerful intimacy with God had sensitised them to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and they just \u2018<strong>knew<\/strong>\u2019\u2026 The three disciples were granted visual revelation \u2013 they saw with their own eyes God\u2019s glory in a mortal body \u2013 the ultimate purpose of the incarnation. Jesus\u2019 mission was focussed on \u201cbringing many sons to glory\u201d \u2013 and don\u2019t let\u2019s merely futurize this as \u2018<strong>getting us to heaven<\/strong>\u2019. It\u2019s bigger than that. The implications are for \u2018<strong>now<\/strong>\u2019 as well as \u2018<strong>then<\/strong>\u2019!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Jesus said, \u201cIf anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him\u201d \u2013 implying here and now, in this life (John 14:23).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>God \u2013&nbsp;<strong>Father, Son and Holy Spirit&nbsp;<\/strong>\u2013 will make a \u2018<strong>home<\/strong>\u2019 for Himself in any man or woman or child who loves Him and who refuses to join the crowds who despise His Word.&nbsp;<strong>And will that home radiate God\u2019s glory into society? Yes, it will<\/strong>. God wills that we believing mortals be made like His Son. And will His Son fail to glorify the Father in us? No, he will not. Is it the Son\u2019s pleasure to glorify the Father? Yes, it is. As we become like Him, and glorify the Father, will this be our pleasure too? Will we enjoy God \u2013 here and now, in this life? Yes, we will!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>There is a strong possibility that you, dear Reader, have grown old with this publication (like its editor). For your remaining days on earth, may you not miss your chief end. God\u2019s chief end, to make us like His Son, finds its fulfilment in our chief end when, like His Son, we live to glorify Him \u2013 and that becomes our joy.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Enjoy Him!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You are here because?&nbsp;We are reminded of the principal reason for our existence You would think, would you not, that \u201cWhy am I here?\u201d would [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[58],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/swordmagazine.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/swordmagazine.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/swordmagazine.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swordmagazine.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swordmagazine.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=248"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/swordmagazine.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":977,"href":"https:\/\/swordmagazine.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248\/revisions\/977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/swordmagazine.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swordmagazine.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/swordmagazine.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}