Abba, there’s something inside me that still does not like when it is said that our sole purpose for being created was to glorify you…that everything is about glorifying you. But as I’m thinking through this with you, I hear you say it like this,
“We were created to glorify you”.
When I hear your voice say it, I see it as a gift, an invitation to be a part of your beauty and Glory. That’s love. And we do that by being in relationship with you. You bless us and fill up our cup as a part of glorifying yourself. Our relationship with you stands to glorify you AND bless us, past what we could ever imagine. However, you never needed the second part of that equation.
But you wanted it. You wanted to pour out your never-ending love on something that could comprehend it. Something that could understand how deep and wide and long and far that love is. Something that because they could understand it, became so filled with it and started overflowing. And because they were overflowing, they gave it back to you as their expression of that love. Relationship. Which in turn glorifies you because it all started with you. But that glory is something we get to share in with you. Not because of anything we did, but because you invite us into it. Because you want to share it with us. Through relationship.
Relationship and Glory. They are intertwined and go hand in hand. Where one stops the other begins. They cannot be separated. They are one in the same. And when done with you, they are the only thing that can fill and overflow our cup.
Enter Humans. The something you created for this. For relationship and glory. To crave and be filled up by both in you. But relationship is not real unless it is a choice, made by both parties. Committed to by both parties. So you gave humans Will. Their own will. Free will. So they could choose that relationship and glory. So they could choose an overflowing cup. And you created everything around them as evidence of your love. To draw them into relationship with you. Not to manipulate. But to prove to them your intention. Your GOOD intention.
Unfortunately it wasn’t enough for them. At least that is what they chose to believe. They chose to believe there was more, but that you were withholding that from them. They chose to believe that they needed that more and that it could fill their cup fuller than what you were offering. So they used the will you gave them. They used it in opposition to you. Not with you, as is how relationships were created to function, but against you. There was no relationship in that. There was no seeking glory from you or with you. And that one choice, in opposition to original intention, redefined reality for humans. Reality of relationship. Reality of humans’ participation in glory. And reality of having an overflowing cup. Now, relationship was broken, and our pursuit of glory with it. It was a painful break. For everyone.
Yet the story does not end. Because you refused to let them live in this new reality. At least you refused for it to be their reality forever. So you set a plan in motion. A plan to restore reality to its original intention. To restore relationship. To restore humans’ participation in glory.
Today, part of that plan has been fulfilled. However, for that part to be fulfilled, an even greater break in relationship was required. A break between Father and Son. A break in the holiest of relationships. But you chose that break. You chose it for a restored reality. You chose it for restored relationship. You chose it for a restored pursuit of glory. You chose it for US. That’s love.
But there is still more. The rest of the plan has yet to be fulfilled. Because some still use their will in opposition to you. Many actually. But you want them to know the original intention. You want them to know about the restoration that has come and that has yet to come. The restoration for the original intention. You want them to know the true and deep GOODNESS of the original intention. And you want them to choose it. Freely. Because you want relationship. You want pursuit of glory in you. And you want them to be a part of it. You want to overflow their cups. You want them to know love. Your love.
So, what will YOU choose?
