“God is going to do big things with your life,” we often hear. No doubt well-meaning, but is it true? Is it big when God allows a believer to wrestle with a debilitating chronic illness? Is it big when a godly servant spends his life serving in a small one-room church in a rural town? Is it big when a mother turns down a corner-office promotion to teach her children full-time from home? Can a small and hidden life be as glorious as one seen and heard across the globe?
While not big by earthly standards, small acts of obedience that go unnoticed can be big displays of God’s glory. He’s doing big things when redeemed people, no longer living for themselves, bring him glory.
Wooed by Earthly Glory
What makes something big or noteworthy? Dollars? Followers? Influence? Fame? In the hustle and hurry of our daily walk with God, it’s easy to convince ourselves we’re simply trying to make the most of our lives when we’re actually wooed by earthly glory rather than God’s. It’s hard to be consumed with God’s glory when we’re busy trying to acquire our own.
It’s hard to be consumed with God’s glory when we’re busy trying to acquire our own.
The apostle Paul reminds believers in his letter to the Romans, “From him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever” (Rom. 11:36). Nothing we have, no circumstances we’ve been given, no talents we possess on this road with Christ have been entrusted to us for our own glory. They’re all from him, through him, and to him.
As I ponder this truth, these familiar words rise to the surface of my thoughts:
Should nothing of our efforts stand, no legacy survive;
Unless the Lord does raise the house, in vain its builders strive.
To you who boast tomorrow’s gain, tell me what is your life?
A mist that vanishes at dawn, all glory be to Christ!
All glory be to Christ our King. All glory be to Christ!
His rule and reign we’ll ever sing, all glory be to Christ!
I get tearful every time I begin to sing these opening lines to the hymn “All Glory Be to Christ.” The truths reflected in these lines unmask the ache and weariness that so often accompany us as we journey with Christ—simply because we forget it’s not about us. The pressure’s off, friend; all the glory belongs to Christ.
Christ’s Work Outshines
Recognizing the emptiness of our earthly pursuits and the temporal nature of much of what we build isn’t meant to discourage us. Instead, the reality of the fleeting nature of our journey is meant to point pilgrims like me and you to that which will outshine all else.
Only what Christ did—his work on the cross and his redemption and restoration of us to the Father—will last into eternity. Not our 401(k) accounts, not our diplomas, not the nonprofits we started, not the books we wrote. Not the stamps on our passports, not the homes we built.
The pressure’s off, friend; all the glory belongs to Christ.
But don’t be disheartened, friend. Be a glory chaser; run after God’s glory and not your own. The influence of your life lived for Christ will certainly have eternal effects. But what you build here on earth won’t last forever.
Big Plans Indeed
What big plans does God have for our lives, then? As those forgiven and sanctified in Christ, we are his trophies, and our redeemed and praise-filled presence in heaven will bring him glory—for eternity. As “All Glory Be to Christ” describes,
When on the day the great I Am, the Faithful and the True
The Lamb who was for sinners slain, is making all things new.
Behold our God shall live with us and be our steadfast light,
And we shall e’er his people be, all glory be to Christ!
All glory be to Christ, our King. All glory be to Christ!
His rule and reign we’ll ever sing, all glory be to Christ!
His promise to make all things new (Rev. 21:5) includes remaking me and you. This is no small, insignificant purpose for our lives, friend. This is the Creator restoring us to his very likeness and making us fit to bring him glory—and fit to be glorified with him. He has big plans for us, indeed.
