|
| |
|
 
Our Purpose of Praise
"To the praise of the glory of grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved" (Ephesians 1:6)
One of the
great themes in the Bible is God’s
call upon his children to live with
the purpose to praise him. He gives
us many reasons to praise him. These
reasons can be summarized in living
our lives to the praise of the glory
of his grace. This purpose implies a
number of truths.
This is a
call to live a life of faith. It is
a believing heart that can praise
God in the midst of trials. Faith
keeps its eye on God, by keeping our
ears open to listen to what God has
said in his word. Faith comes by
hearing the word of God (Romans
10:17). The
believer says, ‘my orientation
toward life is to not walk by sight
but by faith. God says he is good to
his children (Romans
8:28). So I must fight
against an unthankful spirit. God
says that sin draws us away from
fellowship with him, so I must fight
against the inroads that sin seeks
to make into my life daily.’ Note:
“If I regard iniquity in my heart
the Lord will not hear me” (Psalm
66:18). This eye on God, a thankful
heart, and a pursuit of holiness are
three essentials in the pursuit of a
life of praise. But there is
another. We must come to God as one
who needs his mercy and grace. We
deserve his judgment for our sins.
However, through the death and
resurrection of the Son of God,
Jesus Christ, we may be forgiven and
welcomed into the family of God as
his children. This is so impactful
on our spirit that we are gripped
forever with a sense of God’s hand
on us and his heart toward us as a
gracious Savior. The daily orienting
theme to praise is: “Thank you Lord
for saving my soul!” On the days
when our heart grows cold toward
this call to praise, we must make
this priority number one. O Lord
revive the fire of appreciation in
my heart for your forgiving heart
toward me. I stand by Jesus’ life
and death alone before you as your
child. Help me to return to my first
love, which is, Jesus as my portion
in life. Praying like this soon
revives the faith of a repentant
child of God. Soon our hearts warm
up again to the theme: I live for
the purpose of praising God for his
grace.
One more thing we should note in
this verse. The grace we praise God
for is glorious. “To the praise of
the glory of his grace” (Ephesians
1:6). This is not the least thing in
our life. It is the greatest. All of
God’s children know that we are made
for relationships. However, our
relationship with God is what
orients all of our life. As we walk
with him in communion and obedience
and praise we are energized to be a
servant to others. We seek him first
and then “the other” things of life
are added to that (Matthew
6:33). This is the
foundation of our life and the apex
of it also. This relationship with
God is also our exceeding joy, or
literally, “the joy of our joy”
(Psalm 43:4). No wonder that our
text says it is the glory of his
grace at which we stand in awe. This
is the purpose my life, every
believer must say, to live daily
with a song in my heart to the Lord.
Thank you Lord for making me your
child. Use me as your servant to
tell others of the mercy that is in
Christ. Help me to live in my family
as the fragrance of the Son of God
to them. Help me to avoid the
by-paths that would draw my heart
away into areas that would lead to a
self-destructive life. I want to
live my life daily “to the praise of
the glory of his grace”. This is the
prayer of every child of God. May
God renew it in us today! May God
impart it into the hearts of those
who are far off from him!
|
Editor's note: Gary
Carter is an assistant to Dr. Gills as well as the pastor of Tampa Reformed
Baptist Church. |
|
|
 |
|
