Created for His Glory (Lent 2, 2023)

In all the universe, there is only one Creator, and He is God alone. His Image is beautiful and mysterious. While Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel depiction of the creation of man might be lovely art worthy of appreciation, the truth is God doesn’t have a hand like humans do.

His Image is more than physical resemblance, but what is it?

We had a resemblance as created beings in God’s “likeness.” From our creation, we were never intended to be independent from God because we belong to Him. Zoom forward to New Testament times, we see that Jesus was “made flesh” as a resemblance to us!

Jesus, Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death– even death on a cross! Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:6-11)

In Christ, we have seen that special relationship of bringing glory to God up close and personal. In and through Jesus, God our Creator has also redeemed us to be considered sons and daughters called by His name and created for His glory.

Focus for Lent: We are His ownership and bring glory to Him through our obedience.

Questions for further thought:

Are all humans created for His glory?

Reading Jesus’ high priestly prayer in John 17, there is one who was doomed to destruction. What about Judas? Did Judas bring glory to God, too?

If someone has the Image of God but chooses to rebel against God…against his Creator…how might destruction of rebellion bring glory to God?

Jesus keeps referring to those whom the Father had given to Him out of the world. Obviously, it’s a subset of the world. Does the world bring glory to God, too? Far from universalism (in which everyone is saved whether they honor God or not, have received forgiveness or not, etc.), how does God’s final squashing of all rebellion and wickedness in the Last Day display His attributes of both perfect love toward those He created, and wrath avenging His perfect holiness.

Prayer: Father, please help me to remember my sins are ultimately against You, and prompt me to repent at all times, not just during this season of Lent. Instill deep in my heart that You are my Creator and I belong to you. Your ownership of me commands my obedience to You…just as Your Son did, though He was (in eternity past to eternity future) Your equal. He is God. May I endeavor to submit my will to Yours and to worship You rightly. You deserve this as my Creator. Amen.

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If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2023 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014.
Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations. We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17.
ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ. It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.
Last year’s devotionals, Revelation in 40 offered 40 vignettes, scenes, concepts, and thoughts to inspire us to read the Book of Revelation as it is written and to go deeper. They are archived beginning March 2, 2022.