While
most people believe God saves people for "people’s sake" (i.e.,
because of his attraction to them and his inner compulsion to promote and honor
them), Psalm 106:8 tells us that God is in the business of saving sinners for
"his own name's sake" (i.e., for his own honor, promotion and glory).
In considering his grace and mercy toward his people, God repeats through the
prophet Isaiah: “For my sake, for my sake, I do this” and “I will not yield my
glory to another” (48:11). This is where we find ourselves most
uncomfortable with the biblical view of God, in this case because his acts of
love and mercy are shown to be self-centered – and self-centeredness, we
presume, is such an ugly trait. Our discomfort in the face of these kinds of
truths about God reveals our desire to see him as a human benefactor instead of
the transcendent and sovereign God to whom all glory belongs. “All” is the
operative word because he “alone” is the “central One.” “He alone is the Lord”
who made all things (Neh.9:6). As heaven sings, “You alone are holy”
(Rev.15:4). “There is no one holy like the Lord, there is no one besides you”
(1Sam.2:2). “No one is good, except God alone” (Lk.18:19). We see then that God
is not like a human benefactor or a human savior – he is not like us at all.
Self-centeredness is an ugly human trait, but God is not human. While we may be
tempted to think that we are the “center” of God’s life (as modern doting
parents aptly illustrate), God loves for his own sake, as the exclusively holy
Being in the universe, rightly maintaining himself as the center of his
actions. This does not detract from our feelings of being loved and cared for
by God, it only helps us to retain God as the center and the exclusive purpose
for all of his divine actions. We will after all worship him for saving us not
with inflated chests, but “to the praise of his glorious grace” (Eph.1:6). So
then: “To the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority,
through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen”
(Jude 25).
For more devotionals sermons and resources go to http://www.focalpointministries.org/
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