Brothers, God Loves His Glory

Last February I picked up the book Brothers, We Are Not Professionals by John Piper.  I opened the book for the first time this week and in typical Piper style he gets my attention on the first page.  If you or your pastor have not yet read this book I would highly recommend it.

In chapter two Piper attempts to bring the attention of pastors back to the glory of God.  All too often our main focus as men in the pastorate is upon the church, ministries, or leaders.  These things are not unreasonable to focus in-and-of themselves, but to place them at the forefront of our ministry as pastors can be dangerous.  They can be dangerous because God places one thing as ultimate in his work: His glory.

Here is an excerpt from Brothers, We Are Not Professionals.

     God's ultimate commitment is to Himself and not to us.  And therein lies our security.  God loves His glory above all.  "For my name's sake I defer my anger, for the sake of my praise I restrain it for you, that I may not cut you off. . . . For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profanes?  My glory I will not give to another" (Isa. 48:9, 11).
     God performs salvation for His own sake.  He justifies the people called by His name in order that He may be glorified.
     "Therefore say to the house of Israel [and to all the churches], Thus says the Lord GOD: It is not for your sake, O house of Israel, that I am about to act, but for the sake of my holy name, which you have profaned among the nations to which you came.  And I will vindicate the holiness of my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, and which you have profaned among them.  And the nations will know that I am the LORD. . . . It is not for your sake that I will act, declares the lord GOD; let that be known to you.  Be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Israel" (Ezek. 35:22-23, 32).  (Brothers, We Are Not Professionals, pg. 7)

When we sing songs of His glory and ask that His name be given glory instead of us are we backing those words up with action?  Do we realize that if God's ultimate purpose is to make His glory great and not His people great that we need to follow in his footsteps.  My prayer for myself and my fellow pastors is that each morning we enter the doors of our office, another persons house, or a hospital room that His glory is foremost in our minds. 

Don't just say that we want to glorify God.  Do it.  And then see God work mightily.