Soli Deo Gloria
What do you do when someone tells you that you’re too religious? Or that you’re taking this God thing too far? Well, I believe that once we allow God into our lives, like really allow him into our hearts, then he goes straight to work. Going into every room in our heart and cleaning out all the dirt and opening cupboards that may never have been opened before.
The Bible says in Revelations 12:11 “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” Trust me, those that know me know that I hate being put on the spotlight or being asked my opinion on things but honestly certain things are worth speaking up about. Evangelism is still such a scary topic for me, I mean talking to someone about my faith that’s like major! But then again if I find it easy to connect with people on interest such as sports, tv shows or latest news, so why not connect on the topic of faith?
Recently, I found my interest in sports has diminished. Gone are the days where I would come home and straight away catch up with all the latest basketball news. I knew the results of most games and which teams were doing well and which teams were slacking. I mean I followed the All Star weekend of 2016 so religiously that I even watched the behind the scenes videos with Draymond Green on UnInterrupted. Yep, I was one of those fans. But the crazy thing is that life happens. I guess basketball was some sort of escape for me during that point in my life. Rather than study and spend the much needed time on my school work (sorry mum and dad!), instead I needed a distraction , something to keep my mind off the real work that I had to do. Now that I actually have real life work I find myself instead watching comedy shows on YouTube and other miscellaneous things. But, such is life.
Once again I refer to one of my favorite books in the Bible
What is our exact end goal in life? I do not want this to just be some pseudo, deep, meaning-of-life type question? But, have we seriously considered what our end goal to be? Beyond academic prowess, career fulfillment, building a family and a home, financial success, philanthropic work and all the other amazing things we can accomplish in life what is left in the hereafter?
I have come to realize that all of life is a means to an end. My end is Jesus Christ. Soli Deo Gloria. What I mean by that is that I am seeing that nothing else really satisfies me like knowing and loving Jesus. Now, I have tried filling my God-void with other distractions, yet, I come back to the conclusion that nothing is quite as satisfying. There is no point in striving and filling our lives with senseless adoration and useless devotions to things and people that is not soul edifying.
In his song ‘Oh!’ Jonathan McReynolds addresses the celebrity-crazy society we live in and discusses how people are more willing to celebrate human beings such as their favorite sports stars and celebrities but refuse to celebrate the ‘Celebrity of Ages’ aka Jesus Christ. This message seems even more poignant considering the recent allegations made against American actor Jussie Smollet. Whilst we are yet to find out the truth, one can only wonder what kind of society are we in that such a story can even be feasible?
Soli Deo Gloria means All for The Glory of God. To me this means I live my life to the glory of God, I write, create, interact and work all for the glory of God. Now, don’t get me wrong there have been plenty of times when I want to live selfishly for my own desires. Shoot, I DO live for my own selfish desires and wants and to fulfill my hopes and dreams. But, when I fall flat on my face and realize I actually cannot do this by myself, I need the help of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in One. I humbly come before the throne of mercy, ask for forgiveness and surrender my motives into the hands of God. You see the heart is very important in determining our actions. Once we have determined in our hearts that we will live for Christ, absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God that is found in Jesus. Moreover, when we live for Christ and surrender to him and we seek his face and pursue after him, then EVERYTHING else that we want, that we gave up to chase relentlessly after Christ will be added unto us.
In our celebrity obsessed world, I always find it interesting that there are some celebrities that are able to keep re-inventing themselves to stay relevant in our society. People like P.Diddy aka Puff Daddy aka Diddy aka Love aka Sean Combs. I mean this guy started off as a hot shot music producer, started his own music label Bad Boy Records, became a rapper then transformed into a video music dancer (aka male video vixen, l-o-l). However, recently we get to see more of his demure side and his role as a father.
On the contrary, there is a God, who transcends time and space. He was around even before the creation of the world yet He remains the same. He never has to reinvent himself rather He exposes different aspects of himself to us. Our interactions and affections for God changes based on how we grow and our knowledge of who He is and what He’s done for us. The sovereignty of God is something that we cannot deny, no matter how much we may seem oblivious to it. How can we fully understand this God in the truth of his majesty?
I do not know if we can, but I plan to spend the rest of my life attempting to figure Him out.
Therefore, in answer to my earlier question I don’t know what else to do. You see God truly is the Lover Of My Soul and when you are in love with someone you just can’t help but talk about them and share things about them with others. Moreover, I realize daily just how much help I need to do this thing called life. So until further notice, I will continue to live Soli Deo Gloria.
#LiveOnPurpose
Mo 🙂
