Week Seventeen-Day One: Knowing Human Beings

Isaiah 43:1-7

¹ But now, this is what the LORD says—he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. ² When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.
“³ For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead. ⁴ Since you are precious and honored in my sight, and because I love you, I will give people in exchange for you, nations in exchange for your life. ⁵ Do not be afraid, for I am with you; I will bring your children from the east and gather you from the west. ⁶ I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back.’ Bring my sons from afar and my daughters from the ends of the earth—⁷ everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made.”

God made me for His glory.

Last week, we said that there are two great truths that anchor our understanding of why we are here. The first truth is found in God’s love for us. The second great truth that addresses our life purpose is rooted in God’s glory. God made me for His glory.

Remember, God is a community. He existed in perfect love and fellowship for eternity. He did not create us because He needed company. We do not complete Him; He is complete in Himself. He did not create us to meet any need or any deficiency; He has none. God made us for His glory.

At first it sounds diminishing to think that God does not need us. But knowing that God created us for His glory elevates us, rather than diminishes. Listen to Wayne Grudem’s explanation:

“This fact guarantees that our lives are significant. When we first realize that God did not need to create us and does not need us for anything, we could conclude that our lives have no importance at all. But Scripture tells us that we were created to glorify God, indicating that we are important to God Himself. This is final definition of genuine importance or significance to our lives: If we are truly important to God for all eternity, then what greater measure of importance or significance could we want?”[1]

What does it mean to be created for God’s glory? Imagine building a book case at your house so that you could display those things most important to you. On these shelves you display your favorite pictures of your children, a couple of your favorite books and a few awards that you have won over the years. You actually love inviting people into that room of the house so that you can show off your favorite things. These things say an awful lot about you and mean a great deal to you. It would be fair for us to think of the universe as the display case and us as the favorite objects on display. This is very near to what God means when He says of us: those “whom I created for my glory.”

Look at the Scripture passage at the opening of today’s exercise. Let’s spend a few minutes drilling down on Isaiah 43:1-7.

1. According to verses 1 through 3, what did God do for us?
2. What do these verses say about us?How does God feel about us?
3. What do these verses say about our relationship with God?
4. According to verse 4, some nations are not as privileged.In fact, they are sacrificed in order to benefit God’s people.How does this make you feel?(It’s complicated, isn’t it?)
5. According to the same verse, why does God do this?
6. What do you think it might mean to be “called by my name”?
7. According to verse 7, why were we created?

So, knowing that we were created for God’s glory helps answer the question why we are here. We are here to glorify God!

That means, we are here to be a display screen on which God’s attributes, character and purposes can be displayed. We are here as audio-visual aids to help people understand how great God is and how awesome His plan is. Our lives are an advertisement for God!

Listen to how Paul puts it in his letter to the Ephesians. “In him we were chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.”[2]

God made me so that He could love me and He made me for His glory.

BEFORE YOU START YOUR DAY

1. Look back at Psalm 8.Let’s review verses 1 through 4 and add verses 5 and 6 to our memory bank.

¹ LORD, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory
in the heavens.
² Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger.
³ When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
⁴ what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?

⁵ You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.
⁶ You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet:

1. Write them down and carry them with you through your day.
2. Spend a moment in prayer bragging about God.Ask Him to display Himself through your actions today!
3. Dedicate your day to God right now.