The Purpose

UV 865/10,000 The Purpose “The people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.” Isaiah 43 v 21 This uni-verse declares the purpose for our creation, formation and preparation. We are formed to humble ourselves and submit before the Lord our Creator and Redeemer. Our primary purpose in life is to proclaim the praise of the Lord. We are the planting of the Lord to reveal His splendour. Some translations put it as “ to show forth my praise.” We must thank and glorify the Lord with the fruit of our lips-thanksgiving and worship, the fruit of our spirit-our character traits, the fruit of our minds- our thoughts, emotions and decisions and the fruit of our hands- our deeds and achievements. True worship reflects all these four dimensions. Our praise and worship should be personal, intimate, deep, holistic and continual. We should always maintain an attitude of gratitude for received blessings or benefits as well as an attitude of anticipation mixed with hope and thanksgiving for promised favour. In Old Testament times, the Levites were a class of people who were set apart to praise and worship the Lord as priests. But, today we are formed as an order of priests and kings. As priests, we praise the name of the Lord with an offering of the sacrifice of praise from our lips and hearts. As kings, we execute matters in such a way that it will bring praise to the Lord God. The word “ formed” implies that the Lord grooms and shapes each one of us individually as well as collectively. He allows certain events and incidents in our lives as part of that process of formation to form our character and faith. The word “ proclaim” implies that our act of praise is not subtle or secret but it implies an open expression of reverence for the Lord and an open demonstration of the power of God. Elijah the prophet declared His God to be a living God and demonstrated how his water-soaked sacrifice was consumed in fire from the Lord. First, he showed an attitude of reverence, then he made a confession of his faith in the Lord and finally, he demonstrated with a manifestation from the Lord. We are a peculiar people who are zealous for good deeds as our good deeds will glorify God. Jesus asks us to shine for the Lord in a world of moral and spiritual darkness or depravity. When we do good deeds to show or prove our own goodness, it is like moth-eaten rags as our motives are suspect. When we do good deeds to show our faith in the Lord, the holes in the garments of praise will be covered with mercy and grace. When people see the good we do, they will praise the Lord too. All our past and current experiences are meant to prepare us to proclaim the praise of the Lord. When we are delivered from life-threatening situations, from crippling diseases, from conflicts, we have a reason to continually thank and praise the Lord. Yesterday, as I lay in bed, this thought came to my mind, “ He is the God who ends the shortages that we encounter on our journey.” Prateep V Philip