If you haven’t listened to All Glory Be to Christ by Kings Kaleidoscope please take a moment to do so. We will actually be singing this song together as a church for the first time this Sunday (12.12.21) One of the things that I love about this song is the simple truth that all glory belongs to Christ. It doesn’t matter what we do, without Christ we have nothing. It doesn’t matter how much we gain, without Christ we have nothing.
“Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain.”
Psalm 127:1
Unless we seek Christ, unless we allow Him to do His work in us and through us, we labor in vain. Without Christ what do we have to boast in?
“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit” – yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”
James 4:13-15
Outside of Christ, we have nothing to boast in. We can strive to make all the plans we want, but at the end of the day if it doesn’t align with the Lord’s will, what do we really have? That’s not to say that we cannot make plans, when doing so we must remember that God is ultimately in charge. It’s not my will be done, it’s His will be done.
Ultimately we should strive for not our will, but His will to be done. A well-known example is found in the Lord’s Prayer and when Jesus prayed in Gethsemane. “And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39). Is that a request that you are willing to make? I know personally, I struggle with it at times. It can be difficult to pray for His will to be done. Despite the difficulty, Christ is so much greater. He is so much more glorious. Through Christ, we have everything that we could ever need. So take Him up on His invitation and come to the water.
“Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
Isaiah 55:1
If you have yet to take Him up on His offer, come to the water, consider Jesus’ words to the woman at the well…
“Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
John 4:10
It’s a gift that is given without cost. It’s water that satisfies all thirsts. It’s water that gives such a great reward.
In Christ, we have the greatest reward, both now and in the future. Christ is our hope, the one that we can look back at what He has done and hold strong in the promises of what He will do.
“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
Revelation 21:3-4
What a glorious day that will be. Through Christ, we are adopted into God’s Kingdom. Allow me to rephrase that, we are adopted into God’s Kingdom now and forever. No matter what may come our way in this life, in Christ, we have all that we will ever need. In Christ we have life. In Christ, we can go boldly throughout knowing that we are saved now and forevermore. What a beautiful message. What wondrous love that God would send His son to die for us sinners. That he would express his unconditional love for us and give us the water that we so desperately need.
Christ is worthy of all the glory that we can give. “Saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation 5:12). To Christ belongs all glory. In all that you do, strive to glorify Christ. He is worthy of all the glory that we can give Him.