To the Glory of God

A common practice for artists is to sign their name somewhere on their work. A painter or photographer might slip their autograph or initials in the corner of their finished masterpiece, and even architects have been known to sign their name in wet cement. Johann Sebastian Bach, the famous Baroque composer, always signed his music sheet when he put together a piece, but he didn’t sign his own name or initials. Instead, Bach wrote SDG, which stood for the Latin phrase soli deo gloria, or “to the glory of God alone.” 

Everything we do in life should be done to glorify God, and Him alone. Bach composed some beautiful music, but he wanted his art to bring glory to God, not to himself. When you listen to his Mass in B Minor, he wants you to think about God, not Bach. We need to have that same mentality, where things we accomplish are not for the applause of others, but as our gift to God. Even Jesus made that His mission while He ministered down here, so that on the night He was arrested He prayed, “I have glorified you on the earth. I have finished the work which you have given me to do (John 17:4).”    

If Jesus lived to glorify God then so should we. In Psalm 50:15 God tells us to glorify Him when He comes through for us. Speaking on behalf of God, the psalmist Asaph wrote, “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” It is easy to glorify God when He comes through for us; for the immeasurable blessings in our lives we should be quick to turn the praise towards heaven. But giving God glory isn’t reserved just for the times that we have deemed Him to have come through for us. We need to be just as quick to glorify God even when life is difficult. 

In fact, we need to give God glory in all things—good and bad. Paul wrote, “Whether therefore you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (I Corinthians 10:31).” Is your life being lived in such a way that God gets glory? Do you point people to God, or do you turn them off to God with your sour attitude or sinful activities? Your life is your own masterpiece, and we must make it our aim to sign our lives SDG—to the glory of God alone. 

A Second Chance

When Thomas Edison was working on his invention of the light bulb, I read that the finished product required a team of men to work twenty-four consecutive hours to assemble the first bulb. When they were finished Edison handed the bulb off to a young man who was told to carry it upstairs. That poor man nervously cradled the bulb like it was a premature infant, so worried that he would drop it. And that is exactly what he did. The bulb shattered in a million pieces. 

The crew went right back to work, and twenty-four hours later they completed the second light bulb. Who do you think Edison entrusted to carry the bulb upstairs? He handed it off to that same young man who had already destroyed their first bulb, but this time that assistant successfully carried the bulb up the stairs. Sometimes we all could use a second chance. 

That truth is one of my favorite aspects of the ministry of the prophet Jonah. It is widely known that he was called by God to go to the great city of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire. The city’s magnificence was rivaled only by its wickedness. We can’t blame Jonah for not wanting to go; archaeological evidence shows us that the Ninevites, led by their cruel king Ashurbanipal, impaled prisoners of war and left them to die in the sun; they beheaded victims and stacked their skulls outside the city gates as a warning to would-be invaders; they skinned people alive; and Nahum tells us they even practiced infanticide by throwing unwanted babies into the streets. Jonah didn’t want to go because he didn’t think people like that deserved God’s mercy and forgiveness. 

So Jonah decided not to go to Nineveh. He chose Tarshish as his destination, but he never arrived there. You know the story: God sends a storm, the pagan sailors decide the gods must be punishing them, they throw Jonah overboard, and he is swallowed by a special fish, only to repent and be regurgitated on dry land. 

Armed with a second chance, the prophet commits to keep his vow (2:9), and this time he gets it right (minus the bad attitude, but that is another topic). Because of Jonah’s preaching, more than 120,000 people repent of their unspeakable wickedness and God spared the city for another century. 

Do you always get it right the first time? Me neither. I’m thankful for a God who gives second chances (and third chances!). If you are in the middle of doing something wrong right now, repent of it and ask the Lord for a second chance and a fresh start. But don’t miss the real theme of Jonah: “Salvation belongs to the Lord (2:9).” 

Jonah didn’t want to take the gospel to people he thought were undeserving of mercy, yet when he was in the fish’s belly, mercy is what he prayed for. We don’t deserve mercy, but we receive it. Don’t make the mistake of thinking God shouldn’t extend that same undeserved mercy to those we might deem as being too wicked, but share the good news with those who need to hear it most.

Rhetorical Questions

Are you familiar with rhetorical questions? They are questions in which the answer is so obvious that the question doesn’t actually need to be answered; the answer is implied by the question. An example of a rhetorical question would be, “If everyone else jumped off a bridge, would you?” There is also this classic one from the Bible: “Oh death, where is your victory? Oh grave, where is your sting (I Corinthians 15:55)?” 

Parents are notorious for asking rhetorical questions: “Do you want me to pull this car over?” “Do you want a spanking?” “Do you think I’m joking?” “Do you think money grows on trees?” “What do I look like—a bank?” Children know that the only answer is to either say no or else just be quiet. I’ve never heard of a child saying yes when asked if he needed a spanking. 

We understand that rhetorical questions are not intended to be answered, but if you ever do venture an answer to one, you better get the answer right. One of the few times I have seen a rhetorical question answered is in the book of Jonah. Near the end of the story God’s wayward prophet is having a private pity party because the gourd that was giving him shade spoiled overnight because of a worm that the Lord prepared for the occasion. Jonah is miserable. He should have been on cloud nine because he had just preached the gospel in Nineveh and more than 120,000 people believed his message and repented of their sins. God spared the city from destruction because their faith was sincere. 

Jonah was furious that God forgave them, and he was sad because a plant died. God hit him with a rhetorical question that was meant to make him think. He asked, “Do you do well to be angry over a gourd(4:9)?” Classic rhetorical question. This is supposed to be the part where Jonah’s head drops in shame. He ponders for a moment, and then says, “You’re right God. Of course not. Man, my priorities are out of whack.” But that isn’t what he says at all. Jonah answers God’s rhetorical question, and he gets the answer wrong by saying, “I do well to be angry, even unto death.” In other words, “Yes God, I’m angry enough to die!” 

Rhetorical questions aren’t supposed to be answered, and they certainly aren’t supposed to be answered wrong. I believe Jonah gave us this humorous story to help make a memorable point. As Jonah prayed from inside the belly of the great fish, “Salvation belongs to the Lord (2:9).” It is God’s job to save sinners, and it is our job to help sinners make the choice to seek salvation. We can lose sight of that when life gets in the way. We may let little things get under our skin and then get us down. When we get down we can throw ourselves a pity party, and then we stop doing the important things God has called us to do. 

God just may use His Holy Spirit to challenge our priorities. If He does, I hope you do a better job than Jonah. Do you really want to make that same mistake? 

Helping a Brother

  

Sadu Sundar Singh was part of the Sikh religion, but he converted to Christianity. He told the story of the time he and his friend were traveling through a pass in the Himalayas and they came across an injured man laying in the snow. Singh knew they needed to do something to help this man, but his friend tried to talk him out of it, saying that helping the man would surely result in their own death. Singh was determined to help, so his friend abandoned him and went on ahead. 

Singh lifted the wounded man up and gave him a piggyback ride. Eventually Singh’s body heat warmed the injured man, giving him new life. Soon, instead of being carried, the two men were walking side by side, and then they came across someone laying facedown in the snow—Singh’s friend, who had eventually collapsed and froze to death.

Don’t miss the irony: Singh’s friend chose not to help someone in order to spare his own life, yet he lost it; Singh determined to help, and their shared body heat saved both lives. I believe helping someone is always the right thing to do, even if it doesn’t seem like it at the time. God used one His prophets, Obadiah, to issue a rebuke to the Edomites because they refused to help Israel in their time of need. He said, “For violence against your brother Jacob, shame shall cover you, and you shall be cut off forever (v.10).” 

He refers to Israel as “your brother Jacob” because the Edomites were the descendants of Jacob’s twin brother Esau (Esau’s nickname was Edom), and Jacob’s name was changed to Israel, making the Israelites his descendants. The Israelites and Edomites were brothers, but when Israel was in trouble, the Edomites stood by, and even rejoiced at Israel’s calamity. When the Babylonians invaded Israel, the Edomites looked on with joy, and even blocked the roads so that the survivors from Israel could not retreat to safety. God was not pleased with their refusal to help their brother.

The Edomites were the opposite of the Good Samaritan of Luke 10. When the religious men chose not to give aid to the wounded man, the Samaritan chose to act like a good neighbor. That is how the Lord wants us to live. In fact, Jesus used that story to illustrate the command to love our neighbor as ourselves, which is the second greatest commandment. 

Helping someone is never the wrong thing to do. I would rather be known as someone who goes out of my way to help than as someone who thinks of myself first. Being selfless saved Sadu Singh’s life, and refusing to help cost his friend his life.