Blake Long

What is our ultimate purpose in life? For what reason were we created? The first question and question in The Westminster Shorter Catechism sums up the answer to those questions and the essence of the Christian life.

Question: What is the chief end of man?

Answer: Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.

This is it; this is our end. The objective behind all we do, all we think, all we speak is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. There’s no greater goal; there’s no bigger outcome. This is what we were made for.

And yet, it is the hardest thing to do because of our sinful flesh. We strive day in and day out to glorify God, yet yielding to the Spirit is supremely difficult because we still reside in our flesh (see Romans 7).

We can talk about how we must glorify God—and we should—but I think it’s also important to talk about how we glorify God. How do we glorify God—make much of His name—in different areas of our lives? These are good questions to ask if we want to glorify God and enjoy Him forever—so let’s explore four of them!

Church

In many churches you have members who leave over whether chairs or pews are used; prayer is used as an excuse to gossip; many members speed out of church the moment noon hits and avoid fellowship.

Those are a few of the negative aspects of church. Those are ways we don’t glorify God as a church member. But how can we be intentional about glorifying God? Here are three brief ways.

Be there. If the church doors are open, make every effort to be there. Don’t neglect the gathering.

Be active. Don’t just attend church service, but be an active participant. Going to church is not merely about consuming information—though it’s not less—but is also about serving.

Be honest. Be open with people. It’s okay to be honest and vulnerable. The church thrives when the body is transparent with each other. That’s how relationships grow and the church becomes healthy.

Friendship

Friendship, in the Christian life, is discipleship. It’s iron sharpening iron. It’s—as cliche as it is—“doing life together.” You need friends.

For the longest time in my Christian walk, I didn’t really have friends. The church we attended originally didn’t really have people our age. Now, for a while, we’ve been around Christians our age, but we also understand we can be good friends with Christians not our age.

Be intentional in your friendships. Truly care about them. If your friend is a Christian, make sure to check on them and see how he or she is doing. Again, friendship is discipleship. If your friend isn’t a Christian, just make sure to show him or her the light of Christ through your actions and words.

Finances

How you spend—or don’t spend—your money says a lot about your priories. Is it okay to purchase expensive, nice things? Absolutely. But make local church giving a priority. (I don’t believe giving 10% is a biblical mandate, but giving with a cheerful heart is.) Make being generous with your money something you think about often.

If you seek to glorify God with your finances, simply be a good steward of them. Take care of the money God has given you. This will involve, to a degree, having a budget—no matter how little or how much you make. Budgeting is simply a way to keep track of what you have.

Vocation

Does your job seem useless? Do you feel like you’re going nowhere in your vocation and you don’t make a difference? What you must remember, above all else, is that you work unto the Lord. So that means answering customer service calls to the glory of God; handling complaints to the glory of God; preparing a spreadsheet to the glory of God; fixing a car to the glory of God — and everything else.

You glorify God in your job by doing your job well. Give your all to your vocation, definitely as a Christian.

Enjoy Him Forever

John Piper once re-translated the Westminster Shorter Catechism answer to, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God by enjoying him forever.”

Glorifying God and enjoying God are intertwined. We glorify God by enjoying Him—in church, in friendships, in finances, in vocation. God is our end, friends. The more we focus on God’s glory and being enraptured by His glory, the more we will glorify Him.