Jesus is the End Goal
by: Kate Lalley
July 31, 2024
“And so dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing, and perfect. ”
I was convicted a couple of months ago when I was under worldly pressure to obtain or achieve so many things: the perfect house, good-looking job, appealing body or clothes, good relationships, and friendships. As I sat in my anxiety of feeling the need to conform to worldly standards, I heard the Lord ask, “If you had all of this, would it get rid of your anxiety and satisfy you?” I immediately realized that in the waiting and striving, these wants and needs had become idols in my life and areas for me to control. As I sought the Lord in this, He brought me to Romans 12:1-2.
What it looks like to present our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and acceptable to God, is allowing the waiting season for the things we need or want to be a time to truly know and seek the Lord. By letting Him become our treasure and the one to glorify in our daily portion, we are not only being stripped of idols in our hearts but our hearts are being renewed to see the Lord as greater than anything else we could want or need. Seeking the Lord and sitting in awe of who He is, truly transforms our minds to live in a place desiring to glorify and imitate Him.
Imitating Christ as our purpose in life establishes humility and diminishes inward thinking because our mindset is one of eternity, which was only made possible by the most selfless act of all: God sending His Son to die for our sins so we can take part in the glory and inheritance with Him. Therefore, when the work of the cross is the treasure of our mind — no trial, gift, need, or want can compare to His surpassing glory. Jesus at the forefront of our minds looks like surrendering the idea that the end goal is to obtain anything this world has to offer. We must shift our perspective to the end goal being to glorify Him and share in the inheritance and salvation He promises to us.
I am so encouraged and spurred on by John 14:2 in all of this, “I tell you the truth, anyone who believes in me will do the same works I have done, and even greater works, because I am going to be with the Father.” When bringing Him glory and looking like Him is our purpose every day, we can do the uttermost of what He has called us to in our job, with our friends and family, and anywhere else if our belief, trust, and hope is in Him foremost.
When we hold Jesus and the completed work of the cross as our treasure, guide, and glory, we willingly submit to the necessary process of sanctification; we enter God’s rest and rejoice in His glory. It’s in that place that our mind is renewed and we radiate Christ as we receive what we need and/or that which we are waiting for in prayer and in faith.
Worship
Prayer for Today
Lord, thank you that the Blood speaks a better word than anything else on this earth. I sit in awe of you and what you have done for me knowing that You are more than enough for me, and nothing comes in comparison with you. I surrender to you my agenda, hopes, frustrations, and things I am waiting for knowing that Your glory to be revealed in all of it is what I ultimately want. I pray to have a heart of humility so I can walk every day learning how to imitate you and desiring to glorify you in all I do. Thank you for the gift of the cross and your love that allows me to live from this reality. I love you, Lord, Amen.
Further Study
1 Timothy 6:11-12, 1 Peter 1:3-9, 1 Peter 5:6-10, Colossians 1: 9-13, Ephesians 5:1-2, Ephesians 2:19-22, Hebrews 7:24-28, Lamentations 3:22-27
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To love well as Christians, we must grasp the depths to which love went for us and understand how deeply we are loved. The Bible tells the story of a good Father who passionately loves His children, giving the most valuable possession of heaven to redeem us. Love paid a high price for us.