Meaning?

Much of ideas for this post comes from the book titled Gentle and Lowly: The Heart of Christ for Sinners and Sufferers by Dane Ortland.

What is the meaning of everything? What is the telos, the aim, the macro reason and goal for our small, ordinary lives?

We are on solid footing, both biblically and historically, if we answer: “To glorify God.”

After all, what else is there? We are actually pieces of art. He is the potter, we are the clay. We are designed to be beautiful and thus draw attention to our artist.

Even when we don’t necessarily feel beautiful, actually the heart of God pours forth from the depths of His inmost being that we are forgiven from our sins. We are made beautiful through His actions. His mercy and grace triumphs over all. What a radical message.

In this blog we have been talking about the beautiful design of the universe. There is plenty of compelling evidence for this to be true. But what has the Universe been made for?

Jonathan Edwards describes the meaning and purpose of the Cosmos as follows, “The creation of the world seems to have been especially for this end. That the eternal Son of the most high God might obtain a spouse, towards whom he might fully exercise the infinite benevolence of his nature. And to his bride, pour forth an immense fountain of love, mercy and grace that comes from the center of his heart, and that in this way, God might be glorified."

You see, God made the universe so that His Son’s heart would have an outlet. The beauty of the relationship of the Trinity birthed the cosmos. It wasn’t created because God was lonely and needed someone to worship him. No, the heavens burst forth out of the love of Father, Son and Holy Spirit for each other, and we have been placed right in the middle of it to experience redemption.

Jesus’ passion on the cross represents the very pinnacle of creation. We are the beneficiaries of this astounding measure of agape love! This is the good news. We have been redeemed, set free from shame and condemnation. This is mic drop material. What could possibly be better than this?

The next time you feel down or unworthy, take a moment to realize that you are a part of the bride of Christ. When the devil reminds you of your inadequacy, you can remind him of his future.