We cannot truly be a church, unless we have the correct focuses. As I have thought about the centre of Church life, I have been driven by the central principle that God is our reward in salvation, our purpose in life. Our purpose is to glorify Him, enjoying Him for all eternity. As I have written before:
For this reason we are God centered. God is the origin of life, the highest good, the Creator, the sustainer of all things and the object of our greatest joy. Therefore, our churches must:
Recognize --The Meaning of Life through God
We were created to glorify God by enjoying Him forever. God is the ultimate object of all our desires, hopes and joys. The problem of "sin", is that "all have fallen short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). God's glory is our prize, our object, and we have missed achieving it. So that the Bible says, "we are without God and without hope in the world" (Ephesians 2:12).
Realize –The Joy of Life through God
Jesus came to change this. He came so that we might have "life more abundantly" (John 10:10). He explains that those who pursue the life of true religion are "Happy". The Bible makes the bold statement, "He who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is the rewarder of those who seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6).
Reform –The Worship of Life through God
Since we are all worshipers by nature, we must either "honour Him as God" and "give Him thanks" (Romans 1:21) or "worship and serve the creature rather than the creator" (Roman1:25). We do the second anytime we put anything before God, our ambitions, our thoughts of what God should be. We do the first when we look to God in the Bible and participate in His church, seeking to know Him, experience Him, and worship Him. When we do that our joy is made complete.
