First Questions first.....

Q. 1. What is the chief end [major purpose] of man?
A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.

What are we here for?

And moreover, why do we exist in general?

Was that the answer you were expecting? Would you have instead gone for: to be the best Nurse, Doctor, Fireman [insert clichéd childhood dream job here] that you could be? Or if you’re being a little more general and non-career focused, what about to be loved and show love to others?

 These aren’t bad ambitions, not for an instant should you get to thinking that these are relegated to things that it’s wrong for Christians to want. But they are too small a dream, to meagre an ambition to have as the head liner to your life.
In the column marked purpose, there are letters marked out in bold. The reason we’re here at all (although there may be many other smaller related reasons printed underneath)....For the glory of God.

 Two questions may rise:

1. What is glory? I’ve sung enough Chris Tomlin songs with it in the title, knocked out a few bars of 'glory glory Man United'.... but don’t quite get what it means. Glory is a question of weight...literally. To be glorious is best rendered in common-place English as ‘weighty-ness’ and God is the most weighty being in existence...not implying that he’s been eating all the celestial pies, but that his importance, his pre-eminence, his value, his majesty, his resplendent beauty is unmatched....nothing else even gets close.

 2. Isn’t this all a little egotistical? That I was made for this? Yes and no. Egotism and seeking your own glory represent thoroughly negative things among us humans, we seek to raise ourselves above others who are our equals in value. We seek to direct worship towards ourselves, worship we don’t deserve. God made us to delight in him, to praise him....and when you think about it he is the only being in existence that has a right to do that...and all things considered, doesn’t he deserve this praise?

 So do we add to Gods glory by ‘glorifying him’ do we add to his worth? In no way. We instead are meant to demonstrate his worth in our lives and in our actions by displaying his character, speaking of his value and shaping our lives around him....which leads us onto the second half.

‘...and to enjoy him forever’ for the author and preacher John Piper, these two concepts are so intertwined that he’s tweaked the answer to say ‘To glorify god, by enjoying him forever’ (check out his great book on the subject : Desiring God) the way that you glorify God to the greatest degree is this: showing his ‘all sufficiency’ that he meets all our needs. That we look to him first for our worth, comfort, strength, love....the list could go on. God gives great gifts, but the greatest gift of all that God has given us as Christians is himself. In relationship. We should in all things not be just revelling in the good things we have, but thanking the giver and desiring the giver infinitely more than the gifts...look past your skills, your opportunities, the loved ones in your life all the possessions that clutter our existence....see the giver holding them out to you and value him more.

The imagery of heaven is one of pure joy just by being in the presence of God, this will be our eternal state. Part of the great news of the gospel is that we can start now. Through Christ we can enter into it (although our old self can still hinder it).The more we enjoy God first and foremost, the less tempting the things of the world will be...the longer Jesus fills our vision and our affections the more like him we will become. Relationship with God is not a chore, or position like that of a peasant grovelling before a Korean dictator...it’s what our souls were made for. To glorify him is our chief end, and our enjoyment of him is the chief means of our glorifying him.

Verses to look at:

First half: Psalm 86, Romans 11:36, 1 Corinthians 6:20; 10:31, Revelation 4:11.

Second Half: Psalm 16:5-11, Psalm 144:15, Isaiah 12:2,Luke 2:10, Philippians 4:4, Revelation 21:3-4.