Sons and Daughters of Glory

By Pastor Chad

Life is complicated and weird–at least at times. We experience highs and lows; thrills and drabs; excitement and boredom; laughs and cries; joy and sadness; stress and comfort. We only get one of these things called life–and the life we have is but a vapor or blink of an eye. We experience an amalgamation of factors outside of our control. There are many circumstances, situations, and experiences of life that are out of our hands. Many allow their status or their circumstances to determine who they are. To be sure, there are many uncontrolled variables that affect our personalities, our view on life, and our perception of reality. But our value is not determined by our nationality, our race, our culture, or our background. Our value is determined by the one who created us and by what He created. 

When trying to figure out life, many Westerners first look inward. Individualism is baked into our culture and our society. Modern man assesses his life by looking at himself first. Our contemporary mindset imposes upon us a me-centered view of the world. In thinking about life, meaning, and purpose we usually begin and end with ourselves. Such a handicap is our greatest enemy and leads to one of our deepest burdens. 

When the godly man or woman thinks about life, meaning, and purpose, he or she begins and ends with God. The godly understand that placing God at the center of one’s worldview doesn’t undermine human value or worth–it highlights it. 

In the movie, Invictus, the main character, Nelson Mandela (played by Morgan Freeman) says, “I am the master of my own fate and the captain of my soul.” The quote is from a poem written by the English poet William Ernest Henley. The quote is used to claim that we can determine the meaning of our own lives: We can make our lives whatever we want them to be. We control our own lives. (Or so the idea goes.) It reminds me of the old bumper sticker that said: “Jesus is my co-pilot.” Of course, if Jesus is your co-pilot the wrong person is flying the plane. In the same way, anyone who thinks he is the captain of his own soul is grooming his life for failure. The problem with this mindset is not only is it false, but it gives a distorted view of what life is all about. It makes us think life is about satisfying our own desires, our own wants, our own pleasures. When–according to Sacred Scripture–our life is not our own. We exist for God. 

Hebrews 2:10 says, “For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory…” We do not make or define our own lives, God does. We exist because of God and for God. We exist to be sons and daughters of glory–that is, sons and daughters of the King. This reality makes modern man very uncomfortable. Well, so the idea goes, what if I don’t like what God has for me? What if I reject it or want something different? It’s my life–after all! Why can’t I live it for myself? Why can’t I do what I want? Why can’t I be the captain of my own destiny? Here is the bottom line: all steering their own life have already gone off course and are sure to shipwreck. We were created for so much more than anything this world has to offer. And we were created for so much more than anything our fleshly appetites desire. If we live for God, we then truly live.