The sun sank towards the horizon. I watched, soaking in the warm beauty of it as I chased it west through New York state, prolonging its descent. Its warm glow intensified and deepened from golden to orange as it bathed the earth in warm light and then left it cold and darkening, allowing nothing to distract from its own glory in the last brilliant moments of day.
A passing truck caught my eye as the side of it flashed red, reflecting the glory of the vermilion rays back to the glowing orb.
There it was, summed up in an instant on the side of a semi: the purpose of life.
Reflecting glory.
This is what we were created for: reflecting God’s glory. When man rebelled against God and desired his own glorification instead of God’s, we all fell and a veil of darkness covered us, destroying our ability to reflect His glory back to Him. But through Christ’s merciful and loving blood sacrifice in our place for our sins, it is possible for us be redeemed and restored to God, and for the veil to be lifted from our hearts when we accept Him as Savior. We are enabled to once again fulfill our purpose for being placed on this earth, radiantly reflecting the glory of our God as He sets our hearts ablaze with the knowledge of Himself.
The apostle Paul says of those who have had the veil lifted from their hearts, “We all, with unveiled faces, are reflecting the glory of the Lord and are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the Lord who is the Spirit.” 2 Corinthians 3:18
As we lift our faces and gaze on our Savior (by studying the Word and praying), letting His light shine into our hearts to make us more like Him, we become more radiant, more able to communicate the knowledge of God’s glory to a darkened world. And when people see this in us, they will be ignited to praise and glorify God.
It’s a hall of mirrors, an unending cycle of God’s purpose being fulfilled: we see the glory of God in Christ and reflect it back to Him. As we reflect it to Him others see the glory also and are moved to reflect it back to Him. “For God, who said, ‘Light shall shine out of darkness’- He has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:6
“Therefore, whether you eat or drink,
or whatever you do,
do everything for God’s glory.”
1 Corinthians 10:31 (emphasis mine)
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