Ephesians 2:6-7 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
Oops. Shouldn't have jumped ahead in the blog on November 5. Got to verse 6 too early.
On Nov. 5, I expressed my thankfulness and amazement that each believer in Christ is already seated in the heavenly realms. At the moment of our salvation, we are given a place in heaven. We don't have to earn that seat. It is not something we purchase with our good works or acts of service, but an immediate, guaranteed outcome of our acceptance of Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior.
Verse 7 is a sobering reminder of our entire purpose for existence and God's reasoning for sending His son to die for us on the cross. It is for His glory. It is to bring Him honor.
My human mind struggles with this concept. If a person were to create just to bring glory and honor to himself, we would view that person as arrogant and self-serving. The Trump Towers. Hammons Tower. Plaster Stadium. All are named to honor the benefactor, but done so at the request of those who gave the money. "Look at me and what I could do for all the little peeps out there."
So it is difficult for me to separate my human feelings toward a person who self-aggrandizes and God who created man in order to praise, fellowship with and honor Him. We are here to showcase God's love, mercy and grace. We were designed by God solely for His pleasure.
I want to be careful heading down this road. No blasphemy or mockery is intended. I am just putting forth an idea with which I struggle. I know the correct response is that God is worthy of all praise. I believe that. God created, therefore God has the right to assign purpose for that creation. But there is still some dissonance in my mind surrounding the concept.
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