From Him And Through Him And To Him Are All Things!

Welcome to my new blog!

If any of you have read my other blog, "The Religious Affections", you may have noticed how long the posts on that blog were. I am afraid that many of you have neither the time nor the interest to listen to some of my long rantings so I thought I might start a blog with some shorter exhortations, exultations and devotionals. You may not be interested in my short rants either, but I hope to recruit another team member for this blog so that you won't have to just read my thoughts.

If you haven't heard me speak of "Glorious Joy" before it must be because you have never met me. This term describes all of my convictions regarding God, salvation and life. There is no term (that I can think of) which better connects the heart and intention of two of the most incredible passages of Scripture that I know.

"Though you have not seen him you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls." 1 Peter 1:8-9

"For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever." Romans 11:36

1 Peter 1:8-9 speaks of a joy that is "inexpressible and filled with glory." This joy is experienced by those who know and love Jesus and it is not spoken of as optional, but as assumed. But how do we go from dead in our sins and hatred toward God to saints who are filled with supernatural joy at the very thought of Jesus? The answer is found in Romans 11:36. Everything is from God. Everything is through God. Everything is to God. This is not difficult to understand and it has profound implications on our theology. There is no event in history, no item in your possession, no relationship or natural even that comes about apart from the might and power of God. Everything is from and through Him. This is remarkable in and of itself. But what is even more remarkable is how Romans 11:36 ends. Not only are all things from and through Him, they are also to Him - for His glory. Every event in history, every item in your possession, every relationship you have and every natural event is from God, through God and ultimately to Him for His glory.

This may be hard for some to hear because it makes our theology a little difficult and makes many things (including some Scriptures) hard to understand. But there it is!

So, "Glorious Joy" is a joy that is first from God; secondly, it is through God, and finally, it is to God. God gives us joy in Christ through His Holy Spirit, so it is both from and through Him. And the point of this joy that we get is the glory of God Himself. So God gets all of the glory and we get a joy like we have never known and can't even describe.

I believe that this describes and summarizes the entirety of God's purposes for us and the world. He desires for us to have joy because He loves us so dearly, yet His love for us is intended to glorify Him all the more. So God's glory and my happiness are not two separate things - they are absolutely connected.

We will keep revisiting this over and over and over again as we look at the Bible. Everything in the Bible points in this direction in the end. The cross itself points in this very direction - God's glory and our joy!

Blessings,