Scripture Reading: Colossians 3:14-17
Continuing his description of what a church looks like, Paul reminds us that everything we do, in speech and in action, must be done in the name of Christ. "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Col 3:17). To do everything in the name of Jesus is not unlike the answer to the first question in the Westminster Shorter Catechism. "The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever."
To do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus summarizes the supreme, overarching purpose for human life. All other purposes fall under the all-encompassing shadow of this wondrous, single-minded principle.
And the Scriptures explicitly link how we should live our lives for the glory of God. We should live in harmony with each other that we "may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom 15:6). We should keep ourselves sexually pure for the glory of God (1 Cor 6:18-20). We should be zealous to do good deeds for God's glory (Mt 5:16). Being thankful to God is a way of glorifying Him (Psa 86:12).
The delightful paradox in our yielding our lives for the consummate goal of God's honor is that this sacrifice of our lives for Christ is the path, the only path, to true and abiding satisfaction. Our passion for Christ's honor and our passion for our satisfaction merge in the splendid experience of the life of a Christian. "For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it" (Mt 16:25).
