The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren—A Synopsis (continued). Chapter 7—The Reason for Everything (pages 53-59) Summary The reason for the universe and all that it contains is to demonstrate the glory of God—His essence (nature), His significance, His magnificence, His supremacy and His existence or presence. All of nature reflects His glory. Throughout history He has revealed His glory. But the most excellent revelation of God’s glory has been in His Son, Jesus Christ—the Light of the world. Because of Christ man may actually and truly understand the glory of God. And since God’s inherent glory has been clearly revealed to mankind, everyone is commanded to recognize, honor, declare, praise, reflect and live for His glory. Why? Because God deserves it; He is the creator and owner of all. In the entire universe, only fallen angels (demons) and man fail to bring glory to God. This is the result of sin, prideful rebellion that caused Satan to fall, as well as each individual that has ever lived upon earth (the exception being Jesus Christ). Yet, the greatest achievement in life for any person is to bring glory to God in all his thoughts and activities. The way a person can bring glory to God is to fulfill his God-ordained purpose on earth, just as nature does the same by fulfilling its purpose. Although there are many ways one may bring glory to God, they can be summarized in God’s five purposes for you life, which follow: 1. By Worshiping God—thoughts and activities of and for God that are motivated by love, thanksgiving and delight, not duty. It is an all consuming lifestyle of enjoying and loving God, which involves every intricate aspect of one’s life. 2. By Loving Believers—understanding that all believers have been spiritually united in Christ, that all form one union; therefore, to hurt one is to hurt all; therefore, one glorifies God by honoring, loving and supporting all members of Christ’s body. 3. By Becoming Christ-like—understanding that every believer has been given a new nature (every believer has been indwelt permanently by the Holy Spirit), which allows each one through genuine submission to the Spirit to express, on a continuing upward scale, the characteristics of Christ. This is achieving spiritual maturity, an activity that glorifies God. 4. By Serving Others with one’s Gifts—since God has given to every person unique talents and abilities for the purpose of benefiting others, to do so is to glorify God. 5. By Sharing Christ with Others—which is the fulfillment of Christ’s commission to every believer. Nothing is dearer to God’s heart and glorifies Him more than for a believer to share the gospel message of His only begotten Son with those who are lost and without Him. For a believer to fulfill the multifaceted (five-fold) purpose for his life requires alterations in priorities, schedules, relationships and activities. This is not always simple or easy. It often requires retreating from self-centered goals such as comfort and pleasure. It requires an orientation on promised eternal rewards. It requires a decision—to live for God or for self. But if a believer will make the correct choice to fulfill his God-ordained purpose in life, he’ll find that God will grant him all the power to do it. First comes commitment, then comes the wherewithal (resources and inner-strength) to accomplish the decision to glory God. If anyone who is reading this book is not sure that he or she is saved, being saved is the first step in fulfilling God’s purpose in life. To be saved is to come to the realization that nothing a person can do (through personal good works, religion or anything else supported by man) will save him. A person only needs to understand that Jesus Christ, God-incarnate, paid the penalty-price for all his sins (past, present and future) on the cross; and because Christ did this, no payment is therefore necessary by the person. And the only way a lost person may apprehend (achieve) God’s promise of eternal salvation through Jesus Christ is by faith—the receiving or acceptance (a decision of one’s will) in full and genuine confidence the Person and sacrifice (believing it to be totally sufficient) of Jesus Christ. When this is done, one is granted instantaneous and permanent eternal life. Once this is a surety in the person’s life, he is then ready to discover and start living God’s other purposes ordained for him in life, which the remainder of this book will address. But one word of advice, any person who has recently received Christ in faith and has been “born again,” should immediately find and alert other believers in Christ. The support from others will solidify and strengthen a young believer in truly achieving and living God’s five-fold purpose for his life. Quotes “The ultimate goal of the universe is to show the glory of God.” (pg. 53) “What is the glory of God? It is who God is. It is the essence of His nature, the weight of His importance, the radiance of His splendor, the demonstration of His power, and the atmosphere of His presence. God’s glory is the expression of His goodness and all His other intrinsic, eternal qualities.” (pg. 53) “God’s glory is best seen in Jesus Christ. He, the Light of the world, illuminates God’s nature. Because of Jesus, we are no longer in the dark about what God is really like.” (pg. 54) “All sin, at its root, is failing to give God glory. It is loving anything else more than God. Refusing to bring glory to God is prideful rebellion, and it is the sin that caused Satan’s fall—and ours, too.” (pg. 55) “Worship is a lifestyle of enjoying God, loving Him, and giving ourselves to be used for His purpose.” (pg. 56) “The more you develop Christ-like character, the more you will bring glory to God.” (pg. 56) “The way you’re “wired” is not an accident. God didn’t give you your abilities for selfish purposes. They were given to benefit others, just as others were given abilities for your benefit.” (pg. 57) “Once we know the truth, He expects us to share it with others.” (pg. 57) Scriptures [Note: From this chapter forward, this synopsis will only list the Scripture references instead of stating them in their entirety—it should be understood that the listing of each verse is in chronological order as to how they are used in the chapter] Romans 11:36; Proverbs 16:4; Psalm 19:1; Genesis 3:8; Exodus 33:18-23; 40:33-38; 1 Kings 7:51; 8:10-13; John 1:14; Ephesians 2:21-22; 2 Corinthians 4:6-7; Exodus 24:17; 40:34; Psalm 29:1; Isaiah 6:3, 4; 60:1; Luke 2:9; Revelation 21:23; Hebrews 1:3; 2 Corinthians 4:6b; John 1:14; 1 Chronicles 16:24; Psalm 29:1; 66:2; 96:7; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Revelation 4:11a; Romans 3:23; Isaiah 43:7; John 17:4; Romans 6:13b; 1 John 3:14; Romans 15:7; John 13:34, 35; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 1:11; John 15;8; 1 Peter 4:10, 11; 2 Corinthians 8:19b; 4:15; John 12:27, 28; John 12:25; 2 Peter 1:3; John 1:12; John 3:36a.   Conclusion/Comments The true purpose of all God’s creation, including every person within it, is to bring glory to God. This purpose is multifaceted, which can be summarized with five provisions—(1) worshiping God, (2) loving believers, (3) becoming Christ-like, (4) serving others, and (5) sharing Jesus Christ—the gospel message—with the lost of the world. Once a commitment to this end is made, God will supply the resources and power for it to be accomplished. But the first step is salvation, which may only come by faith alone in Christ alone. To fulfill God’s purpose in life, although difficult in light of worldly standards, is to achieve ultimate satisfaction in life and eternal rewards beyond expectation.