For His Name's Sake

"He restores my soul.  He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake" (Ps. 23:3, ESV).

Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd, who laid down his life for his sheep, restores our soul.  When we enter into his  fold, he provides us with what we need, makes us lie down in green pastures, and leads us beside still waters.  He is a fierce protector of his sheep.  He will strike his enemies with crushing force.  Not one of his sheep will be snatched away by the wolves.  He restores our soul, in part, through his atoning sacrifice.  His grace is the entry point of our salvation. We are saved by grace, through faith.  Jesus continues the process of restoring our soul through the ongoing work of sanctification wrought by the Spirit in our lives.

The reason he restores our souls, the reason he leads us in paths of righteousness, should grasp our attention.  He does this for "his name's sake."  That is, the Lord leads us in paths of righteousness, so that his name will not be defamed.  Through the glorious work of grace in our lives, the Lord's name is magnified.  He is the gracious Redeemer, the Just and the Justifier, the Holy One, and the list goes on.  His strength can not only make a people for himself, but also rescue them from the penalty of their sin.

As he brings us to righteousness, through the application of the gospel to our hearts by the enabling work of the Holy Spirit, God demonstrates that his holiness is unquestionable.  His eyes are to holy to look on sin, so sin must be punished.  God, in his grace, allows the guilt to be paid by substitution, but that substitute must meet his holy standards.  So in Christ, we find our holy substitute.  His life was given as a ransom for our sins.

As he works holiness in our lives, through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, God demonstrates his strength cannot fail.  The people that he chose as his own, cannot be snatched from his hands.  He will not, nor could he be compelled to, let them go.  If God were to let them fall away, it would appear that he was unable to keep them.  This he will not do.

The Lord is serious about his glory, and rightly so.  We tend to hear the echoes of egomania when hear that the Lord is jealous for his glory, but this is nonsense.  God is not a man, full of imperfections and weakness.  His is God-perfect, holy, just, righteous, gracious, merciful, and kind.  Were he to allow something to become greater than his own glory, he would be sanctioning idolatry, the very thing he loathes.  There is nothing greater than God, and thus there is nothing greater than his glory.

He restores our soul.  He brings it back from its wanderings.  He cleanses it of its disease.  He purges it of its disloyalties.  He brings it back to life.  He leads us in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.  He wants to make his name known throughout the world through us.  He wants the nations to revere his name.  He wants drawn them, through his glory, to himself.  He redeems us for his purposes, so that we can make him known in the world.

Finding Satisfaction in the Lord

I have been thinking about something John Piper says frequently. He says, "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him." It reminds me of something King David said, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and do good; and he will give you the desires of your heart" (Ps. 37:4, ESV). The great reward for God's people isn't stuff, it isn't even crowns of glory. The great reward for God's people is God himself.

If we delight ourselves in the Lord, what will our hearts' desire? Logically, it will be the Lord. Our heart wants what it delights in. In Israel the high priest was to speak (pray) this blessing over the people: "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord up his countenance upon you and give you peace" (Num. 6:24-26, ESV). Thus, this blessing was meant to bring people into the presence of the Lord with full acceptance. It is a promise (since the priest is commanded by God to pray this) that God will make his people holy and acceptable.

The joyous conclusion of Revelation also suggests that God is our great reward. John writes, "And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them , and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall their be mourning nor crying nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away" (Rev. 21:3-4, ESV). It also suggests, the fulfillment of the high priestly blessing. In the New Heaven and New Earth, God will make his face to shine upon his people, he will show them grace and give them peace, through his Son Jesus Christ.

Thus, since God is our great reward, he should be the desire of our heart. We are to delight in him, to look to him as our greatest source of pleasure, and to find pleasure in doing his will. This takes me back to Piper's quote, "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him." I take it to mean that as we seek to find joy in God we are actually glorifying him. When we don't enjoy him, we dishonor him. We need to move beyond gratitude for the gifts, and grow in love with the Giver.

Joy is erupting all over my life. When I consider how blessed I have been with my family, my church family, my friends, etc., I can't help but to be driven to awe at the glorious grace of the Lord. To borrow from an old hymn, "Who am I that a king should bleed and die for?". Who am I that the Lord of glory would love me and show me such incredible kindness toward me. I am desperately pursuing the callings in my life--husband, father, pastor, teacher, friend--for the glory of the Lord. I want to know that God is pleased with me (not in the sense where I am trying to merit God's love and grace, but in the sense of a child who seeks to please his parents by obedience). I want to hear, "Well done! My good and faithful servant." As we pursue his glory, we experience greater joy.