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The Reason For Everything:

The word "university" means "unity in diversity." A "university education" is intended to be an education in Truth that reveals the unifying reason behind everything. Today's "university education" ought to more accurately be called a "polyversity" education, an education that is not only devoid of a unifying principle, but of Truth itself. To even talk about these things among 21st Century American Christians is to invite blank looks and wonderment. But if God's people were to rediscover the universal reason for everything, (which is the glory of God), and the underlying story line of history and human existence, (the restoration of the Kingdom of God), we would be in the truest sense of the word university-educated - rather than universally dumb!

God's people would be in possession of the photo that shows how all the pieces of the jigsaw fit together into a unified world of reality.

Instead, our lives are lived very much as if we have just walked into a movie twenty minutes late:
Who are these people?
What's going on here?
Who are the good guys?
What's the relationship between this character and that one?

If we don't understand the story, and our part in the story, we will never be able to grow up.
We will be just like Peter Pan and the boys of Neverland!

(Incidentally, the full-time occupation of the enemy is to obscure the story, the Storyteller, and the "reason for everything" from our consciousness, lest we become a real threat to his own dark kingdom).

So..... what is the reason for everything?

“Everything comes from God alone. Everything lives by His power, and everything is for His glory." - Rom. 11:36 The Message

The ultimate purpose of the universe, and the reason for all existence,
(including human existence), is to show the glory of God.

"Bring My sons from afar And My daughters from the ends of the earth, everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made." Is. 43:6b-7

There are 337 references to glory in the Bible. It is a common word in our Christian vocabulary. But what is the glory of God? It does us no good to speak of something we cannot define. And this is one of those religious words that we always use and never define.

God's glory is who He is. It is his beauty, his power, his justice, his mercy, his truth, etc. But there is a slight problem with God. He is invisible, and therefore we cannot directly see these things in him. His invisible character must be revealed in the visible world for us. And when God's invisible character is made visible in the natural world, this is the glory of God

    n When we see a "glorious" sunset, we are seeing God's beauty.
    n When we experience thunder, we are feeling God's power.
    n When we see the priest handing his silver to Jean Valjean, we are seeing God's grace.

So we glorify God when we make His invisible character visible.

Jesus perfectly reflected God's nature and character, and was thus the perfect manifestation of God's glory. “The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” Heb. 1:3.

This is also why - after each act of creation - God said, "It is good." God saw his glory in the sun and moon, and said "it is good." He saw his glory in living creatures and said "it is good." But when he saw man he saw his very image, and he said, "this is very good."

“For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature-- have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” Rom 1:20

“The heavens declare the glory of God.” (Psalm 19:1)

So when we say something “glorifies God,” what do we mean?
We mean that the thing reflects God’s invisible character; It takes God’s invisible qualities and makes them visible.
"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1 Cor 10:31

We can glorify God in such simple acts as:

    n Planting a garden. (God planted a garden in Eden.)
    n Ordering our room or our office. (God brings order out of chaos.)
    n Serving a neighbor. (Jesus came as a servant.)
    n Painting a picture or creating a work of art. (God is both an artist and a creator.)
    n Stringing Christmas lights. (God shines his light into darkness and strings lights in the heavens.)
    n Holding a child and blessing him. (As Jesus often did.)
    n Building or cleaning a house. ("I go to prepare a house for you.")
    n Meeting the need of a neighbor. (God is Jehovah-Jireh, our Provider.)

All of creation reflects God’s glory except for two things: fallen angels and fallen man.

When a thing no longer fulfills it's purpose it is considered worthless...... (salt....)
Worthless things no longer "deserve" to exist. They go to the trash bin.
The purpose of man is to glorify God.
Through sin, man has "fallen short" of the glory of God.
Therefore we deserve the trash bin......death.
The work of Jesus on the cross was about more than forgiveness. It was about restoring the glory of God into man.

Satan, because he was forever banished from God's presence, has responded in much the same way that a teenage girl would respond to the rejection of a bad break-up. He has set about tearing up all the "pictures of God" that remind him of his separation. Everything that has God's image, His glory stamped on it has to go: anything beautiful, true, just, pure, lovely. And of course man himself, as the chief image-bearer of God was his first and most important target.

The full gospel message is more than Jesus being Savior, Healer, and Baptizer. The Full Gospel is that Jesus gave his life for me, so that He could give his life to me, so that He could restore his glory in me and live his life through me.

The glory of God is the focus of cosmic history.

The kingdom is the story line: (Go to "Kingdom Notes ")