First Things First

Christianity focuses on one thing really—glory. God’s glory

Everything God has ever done has been for his glory. He made us to be the crowning jewel in glory, but we are here, not to get glory, but to reflect his glory. We reflect it back to him and to everyone and everything around us. We do this by observing a few main things:

First, fellowship between Christ and his Father which comes through submission, sacrifice, love, and kindness (Jn 10:15; 1 Jn 1:3). And shows itself in gratitude, love, joy, peace, patience, sacrifice, kindness, etc. (Gal 5:22, 23).

Second, this relationship between the Son and the Father give us a model for how we are to treat one another (1 Jn 2:6). God sent his son to die for us, Christ laid down his life for us, so we should do the same for one another (1 Jn 3:16). Jesus imitated his father, so we should imitate God and Christ (Eph 5:1; 1 Cor 11:1). Christ submitted himself at the hands of his civil and religious authorities, so we should submit ourselves to our civil and religious authorities (1 Pet 2:21-25). Christ, as an act of love for her, died at the hands of his own beloved wife, so we husbands should lay down our lives for our believed wives, even if she is doing it with evil motives (Eph 5:22ff; Acts 2:36-37). Christ obeyed his father unto death, so wives need to submit to their husband even unto death (1 Pet 3:1ff). Christ submitted himself to the one who judges justly, so we should also submit ourselves to God, because we know that he is just and the justifier and nothing gets past him (1 Pet 2:23).

Third, as Christ reflects the glory of the father to us, we reflect the glory of God to those we live with (2 Pet 1:19). We shine the light of God on an unbelieving world (2 Cor 4:4). We shine the light of Christ on Christians as well and in the process help one another to live with Christ in the midst of suffering and pain, even suffering and pain that is caused by us (Mt 5:14-16).

The cool thing about all this is that when we obey God and serve those around us, God often uses our situation to change those we are ministering to. For example, when husbands love their wives, they become more beautiful and lovely (Eph. 5:25-27). And when wives submit to their husbands in the right way, their husbands will be won (1 Pet 3:1). I’ve seen many instances where my obedience to God has resulted in those around me changing from being negative and mean to either being my friends or even becoming Christians. And through all of this God is given glory