Daily Devotions
We Were Made for Greatness
Reading for September 13th: Ezekiel 43-45
Weekly reading for September 13-19: 2 Thess 1-3; 2-3 John
To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Thessalonians 1:11-12
We were made for greatness. More than that, God has made us for glory:
- "Through him we have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God."(Romans 5:2)
- "The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him" (Romans 8:17)
- "And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified." (Romans 8:30)
We might think that when Jesus said we must "deny ourselves" (Mk 8:34) that we must lose all ambition and drive and desire to achieve, but that's not true. Our problem isn't that we desire too much, but that we desire too little. We're satisfied with the monuments we have built for ourselves: careers, accomplishments, legacies. We stand on our achievements and deceive ourselves thinking we've made big waves when we've barely made a ripple. All our achievements will be forgotten as soon as we die (if not before then).
God has a much greater purpose for us. He's adopted us, made us heirs, and purposed that we be conformed to the image of his Son (Romans 8:15, 17, 29). God has made us for "praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:7).
And we must settle for nothing less. We were made for glory.
Father, we praise you for making us a part of your plan and pray Christ might be glorified in us and we in him!
