“What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and enjoy him forever.”[I]
Westminster Shorter Catechism
Have you ever been told “Don’t ask why – it’s not our place”? I suppose that idea sounds like it’s in the Bible, but it isn’t. Knowing “the why” is important. Why am I doing this task? Why did the boss or management make this decision? Why did the national, state, or local government do or not do something…we want to know why!
In the Gospel of John, the disciples came to Jesus with a why question. While they were in Jerusalem, they noticed a beggar who was blind. With what seems like a slightly cruel curiosity, the disciples ask, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” (John 9:2). During the time of Christ, when a child was born with a disability or stillborn or something tragic happened in someone’s life, it was assumed that they had offended God somehow. Because of this culturally accepted falsehood, the disciples asked why, but their minds were limited to only two potential answers: either the parents sinned or the blind man sinned.
In certain cases, within our modern culture, we may be tempted to think the same way. We use words like karma or phrases like, “What goes around comes around,” or a Bible verse, you reap what you sow (Galatians 6:7). Some people might even use super spiritual-sounding ideas like a family or generational curse to explain tragedy.
Jesus’ response to the disciples’ question deals a crushing blow to this erroneous and hurtful idea. “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents,” Jesus responds (John 9:3). I can imagine the wheels in the disciples’ heads started to turn. They felt safe in the assumption that all disabilities were a direct result of a specific offense against God. Then Jesus drops a bomb. The reason this man was born blind was “that the works of God might be displayed in him” (John 9:3).
In this particular story, Jesus makes some mud on the ground using His spit and He anoints the man’s useless eyes with that mud. Jesus then instructs the man to go and wash in a nearby pool of water. In faith, having not seen but only hearing Jesus’ voice and feeling his hands, he goes, washes, and instantaneously sees for the first time in his life. Jesus had given sight to this blind man.
A mix of wonder and skepticism follows. The man’s parents are stunned. He actually has to convince other people that he used to be the blind beggar they supported. I imagine those conversations being quite humorous. But not everyone was celebrating. The religious leaders didn’t care about a miraculous healing. They’re just agitated with Jesus again. In this case, Jesus did a miracle on the Sabbath, a sacred religious day reserved for rest and worship.
The religious leaders quickly summon the formerly blind man for questioning. When first asked how this happened, he credits, “The man called Jesus” (John 9:11). Then a little bit later when asked his opinion about Jesus, he says, “He is a prophet” (John 9:17). Then when he stands before a religious tribunal, he says of Jesus, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25). The evolution of his opinion about Jesus shows a growing faith. Here was a man who couldn’t be educated because of his disability. A man who is viewed by the vast majority of the population as being punished by God. He isn’t trying to engage in a theological debate. He is stating the facts as he sees them.
Outraged by this man’s boldness and honesty, the religious leaders insult him and cast him out. “You were born in utter sin,” they snidely say, “and would you teach us?” (John 9:34). This was more than just saying get out of my office or out of my sight. Because of his disability, the man had been excluded from the joys and privileges of other Jews. For just a few hours, he had been welcomed into the temple, but the religious leaders casting him out meant that he was just as excluded from the Jewish religious community as before. What a roller coaster of a day! Then Jesus finds him.
Keep in mind, the man has no idea what Jesus looks like. Here’s the interaction the Apostle John records.
Jesus heard that they had cast him out and having found him he said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered, “And who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?” Jesus said to him, “You have seen him, and it is he who is speaking to you.” He said, “Lord, I believe,” and he worshiped him. John 9:35-38
In his mind, Jesus went from being simply a man, to a messenger from God, to a miracle worker, and finally Lord. Think for a moment: if he would have just received his sight, physically he would have been much better off. Spiritually though, he would still be blind. He would have tried, like so many others, to do good deeds to earn God’s eternal favor. The restoration of sight would have given him the ability to learn a trade, find a wife, raise a family, and be a contributing member of society, but his spiritual blindness would have remained. Grace saved him from physical darkness, but he needed to be saved from the eternal darkness of Hell (Matthew 8:12). Jesus did more than just give physical sight; He illuminated the man’s spiritual eyes.
So why was he born blind? It wasn’t something his parents or he had done wrong, but what God had done. God tells Moses in Exodus 4:11, “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?” This man was born blind for the expressed purpose of bringing glory to God! And that glory was seen not just in the miracle of healing, but most powerfully in the man’s salvation prayer, “Lord, I believe.” Absolutely everything exists and happens for a reason. What reason? – God’s glory.
Glory is about honor, splendor, and majesty. When an athlete wins a gold medal or a team wins a championship, they experience the glory of victory. Imagine an athlete or team winning and the trophy being handed over to the second or last-place team. It would be wrong. The glory of the gold medal belongs to the winner. They are placed on the highest platform and only their anthem is played. This is why worshiping and giving glory to other gods is so grievous to the one true God. He and He alone deserves the glory. The Bible calls this idolatry or spiritual adultery. Idolatry gives credit and honor that belongs only to God to another.
I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols. Isaiah 42:8
From the first pages of the Bible, the majesty of the Creator is the central theme. When Job encounters God, God begins with creation as a testament to His power and supremacy. God asks Job, the clearly rhetorical question, “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” (Job 38:4). Then He lets Job in on a little secret. God recounts that while He was creating everything from nothing, “the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy” (Job 38:7, NLT). The angels, who are pretty spectacular themselves, seemed to be overwhelmed by the magnificence of God at work. These created beings weren’t in awe of the creation, but the Creator. They responded by shouting for joy and singing songs of worship to God. They just couldn’t hold back. They gave Him glory!
From the mighty angels of heaven to the smallest creature on earth, all of creation is made for the purpose of declaring the great glory of the Creator. Creation is a giant arrow pointing to the Creator.
The heavens declare the glory of God. Psalm 19:1
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory. Isaiah 6:3
Everyone who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made. Isaiah 43:7
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. Romans 11:36
Yet for us, there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist. 1 Corinthians 8:6
For by him all things were created, in heaven and on the earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through him and for him. Colossians 1:16
In every Bible story you’ve ever heard or read, it isn’t man’s glory or fame that’s being celebrated or highlighted. These characters aren’t the Christian version of comic book superheroes. The central theme and focus of each historical account in Scripture is God’s glory, splendor, and majesty. Think about a few classics.
Abraham is the spiritual father of the faithful, but he began his life as an idol worshiper. God claims the glory for rescuing, blessing, leading, and providing many offspring for this saint.
Long ago, your fathers lived beyond the Euphrates, Terah, the father of Abraham and of Nahor; and they served other gods. Then I took your father Abraham from beyond the River and led him through all the land of Canaan, and made his offspring many. Joshua 24:2-3
The Exodus isn’t about Moses. It’s all about God’s glory.
And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his host, his chariots, and his horsemen. And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen. Exodus 14:17-18
He saved them for his name’s sake. Psalm 106:8
For the scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I have raised you up, that I might show my power in you, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” Romans 9:17
David killing the giant Goliath isn’t about a super-shepherd. It’s about God winning the unwinnable battle for His people.
This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand. 1 Samuel 17:46
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were three young Hebrews living in Babylonian captivity. They refused to bow down to a statue that was built to honor the king. As punishment, they were thrown into a blazing, fiery furnace. When they are rescued by the power of God, the violent King praises God.
Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego…who trusted in him, and set aside the king’s command, and yielded up their bodies rather than serve and worship any god except their own God. Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way. Daniel 3:28-29
In the same book of the Bible, Daniel was thrown into the lion’s den. When God miraculously rescues Daniel, the new king makes a similar decree.
I make a decree, that in all my royal dominion people are to tremble and fear before the God of Daniel, for he is the living God, enduring forever; his kingdom shall never be destroyed, and his dominion shall be to the end. He delivers and rescues; he works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, he who has saved Daniel from the power of the lions. Daniel 6:26-27
These last two stories aren’t promises from God to always rescue His people. Throughout the centuries, lots of believers have been martyred by flames and lions. God didn’t always shut the lion’s mouths or make His people fireproof. In some cases, the greater glory given to God was in the death of His people.
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. Psalm 116:15
This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God. John 21:19
God’s grace of shepherding and caring for His people is for “his name’s sake” (Psalm 23:1-3). God’s mercy toward sinners in forgiving and forgetting sins, He says is “for my own sake” (Isaiah 43:25). God restrains His anger, “for the sake of my praise” (Isaiah 48:9).
This reality is not limited to just Bible stories. Your story and mine are part of the grand narrative of the glory of God. Even the trying and refining moments in our lives are for God’s glory (Isaiah 48:10-11). All of history is His story. “God is for God.”[ii]
Does that make God an egomaniac?
If God is in sovereign control over the universe and made everything for the praise of His glory, does that make Him a maniacal, controlling narcissist? Is God an egomaniac? In the human mind, when we hear “God is for God” we might be tempted to accuse God of being and acting in sinfully, self-centered ways. But what if from the beginning God’s glory and human happiness were essentially one and the same thing?
To answer that question we need to return to the biblical account of creation. God created Adam and Eve and placed them in a beautiful and bountiful garden. They were in perfect fellowship with their Creator. God had given them everything they needed, including each other. God had done this for His glory and for their joy and satisfaction. However, Satan soon assaulted the peace of the garden. At the foundation of his attack was the lie that God was keeping a higher level of happiness from humanity. The serpent said, “God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God” (Genesis 3:5). The serpent, Satan, had rejected fellowship with God and now he was enticing humanity to follow the same treacherous path. Tragically, Eve believed Satan and Adam followed suit. Their fellowship with God and their happiness were instantly destroyed.
Rebellion against God (sin) is believing happiness and fulfillment are found somewhere other than God. Saint Augustine writes, “You made us for yourself, and our hearts are restless, until they rest in you.”[iii] There is no higher joy, satisfaction, or pleasure than being in friendship with our creator. King David writes, “In your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11). Like a loving parent wanting what is best for their children, God is offering what is best for us. And what is best for us is Him. Pastor John Piper often says, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.”[iv] God’s glory and human happiness are inseparable.[v]
Even parts of your story or mine that are embarrassing or shameful or confusing or painful are part of God’s glorious story and ultimately for our good. The Apostle Paul in Romans writes, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). Let me tell you a personal story about how I learned this truth.
God’s Story for God’s Glory
In 1959, Fidel Castro came to power in Cuba. Forty years later, I graduated from high school. Those two events happened many decades and miles apart, in two different countries, but they ended up being connected. During the summer of 1999 (by the way, so sick of hearing Prince’s, “Party Like It’s 1999”), I moved to Dallas to begin school at Dallas Baptist University (DBU). I was an 18-year-old kid, 1,200 miles from home. When I was in first and second grade, my family lived just outside of Dallas, so 10 years later, I had a few, vague recollections of people. One of them happened to be a lady who worked at DBU. My instructions were to fly to Dallas, get to campus, and find this lady’s office. She was going to help me get registered. I had applied so late that the college had to call me to tell me I was accepted. The letter wouldn’t have made it in time. I landed in Dallas, got to campus, and she was gone for the day. No joke, I had one check in my pocket to pay for the semester (all the money I had), a trunk, and a gigantic Rubbermaid container with all my stuff. I was standing in the library without a clue what to do next.
Within just a few moments, a lady named Deemie stepped out of her office and asked if she could help me. I had to have had a pretty helpless expression on my face, because from that day on Deemie and her family pretty much adopted me. A few weeks later, my maternal grandfather died. He was only 61. I flew back to Michigan for the funeral and then back to college. I returned to school alone and grieving. I was depressed and ready to drop out of school just one semester in. For the next three years, my parents made me go back to college, every single semester! I felt like God was punishing me, but He was writing a beautiful story.
In November of 2000, I put on a tuxedo and spoke at a college fundraiser to some super-rich Dallas folks. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson was the keynote speaker. I can’t remember what I said, (the script was given to me) but it seemed to go well –so well that after the program I met Dr. Cook, the president of the university. We talked for a few moments and he asked me to come to his office the next day to talk. In my life when principals, deans, and college presidents ask for a meeting, it normally isn’t a good thing. This meeting turned out quite different.
The next day I made my way across the campus to the president’s office. I had never been in there. I was 19 years old and, looking back, I imagine I had on sandals, cargo shorts, and an orange DBU t-shirt. I hope I dressed better than that, but probably not. I sat down with the president of the university, for what would become another life-changing meeting. He asked me what I wanted to do with my life. I explained that I wanted to serve in pastoral ministry. I recall him telling me that he had been a pastor (which I remembered from my first week at school). Then he looked at me and told me I would never pay for school again. He was going to take care of it. To this day, I legitimately have no idea why he did that. I wasn’t a great student. I was on academic probation most of the time. The idea of giving me a scholarship seemed outrageous.
Every semester following, I would register for classes, take my form to the cashier and sheepishly explain, “I don’t know how this works, but Dr. Cook pays for my school.” I would hand them the sheet and walk to my dorm to wait for a phone call telling me I was stupid and to get back to the cashier immediately and pay my tuition. The phone never rang. The president of the university was good to his word.
You’d think that I was happy, and I should have been, but the truth was I was broke, sinful, alone, angry, and depressed. I wanted to drop out, but my parents and an extremely generous scholarship wouldn’t let me. God was in control and He was doing something for His glory that I couldn’t see.
Jennifer and I got married in July of 2002. A few weeks later we moved to Texas so that I could finish school. I walked into Deemie’s office and said, “I want to graduate in two semesters.” She laughed. She explained to me that I hadn’t taken any of my foreign language credits and that it would take me at least four semesters to finish. I registered for classes, really not having a clue how I was going to graduate the following May. A few days went by when Deemie called me. I remember her lovingly saying, “You are a spoiled brat. The community college down the road is offering fast-track Spanish – four semesters of Spanish in two. I’ve checked and it works perfectly with your schedule.” Let’s face it, I’ve been pretty spoiled.
I was going to spend five hours, Monday through Thursday, in Spanish. Jen and I went to the college bookstore to buy the book and noticed that the professor’s name was the same as the author of the book. Instantly I was afraid. There was no turning back. I imagined a high and mighty professor who traveled between semesters, wrote books, and refused to stoop to helping students. And I had just signed up to spend nine months with this guy!
The first day of class came. I walked down a long flight of stairs to a classroom on the lower level. The walls were decorated with pictures and artifacts from Spanish-speaking countries. I took my seat and nervously waited. A few minutes later an energetic, kind man in his early 50’s walked in. His name was Juan Baldor. We were instructed to call him Señor.
What transpired over the next nine months was something truly special. Señor and I became friends. Not in the sucking-up-to-your-professor way, but genuinely, we connected as people. I invited Señor to our church for special programs. We went to lunch and visited some antique shops together. Jen and I shared dinners with him and his wife, Beth. It was during that time that I learned that Juan and his family had fled Cuba as Castro was taking over the country. As a young immigrant, he had learned English by watching cartoons in Miami. Eventually, he and his family moved to Dallas. When I met Juan Baldor, I wasn’t super Gospel/evangelism-minded, but something happened with me and Señor that changed us both.
I did graduate in two semesters. We celebrated with a wonderful dinner with family and friends. It was an academic and financial miracle. Part of me is still waiting for the university to call and explain that there was a big mistake and they want my degree back and some money! After graduation, Jen and I packed up our little apartment and moved back to Michigan.
This is a picture of Señor and I on graduation day, May 16, 2003.
Señor and I stayed connected. I found myself in Dallas a few times over the next couple of years. I remember Deemie calling me and asking me about Juan. She explained that DBU was looking for a Spanish teacher and that because of my experience with Juan, they wanted to hire him. What I didn’t know is what God had done and was doing in Señor’s life. He had gotten saved. He had given his life to Christ. He soon retired from the community college and served for the next 10 years at DBU. He is retired from teaching now, but he serves in his church, translates materials in Spanish for mission work, and has gone on several mission trips. He recently messaged me, saying that he was in Guatemala and shared “our story.”
Hindsight may not be 20/20, but some things certainly become clearer over time. When I felt miserable, alone, depressed, and wished to be anywhere but at school, God was doing something I couldn’t see and wouldn’t understand for years. Why did God take me and keep me at DBU? The answer is Juan Baldor. It all started with the frustration of the lady I was supposed to see being out of the office, Deemie to Dr. Cook, to Juan Baldor, and back again. I still shake my head in disbelief. I was a 21-year-old know-it-all who really knew nothing at all, who God used.
Forty years before I graduated high school, a little boy and his family fled their home in Cuba. He ended up in Dallas and so did I. He offered fast-track Spanish, and I needed to graduate. Matter of fact, it’s the only time in his career he ever offered fast-track Spanish. Why? Because God was going to use me so that He could rescue and save Señor. God was writing “our story.” It’s a story that began in another country long before I was even born! It’s an epic, God authored story that brings Him glory and brings me great joy.
Señor wrote me a letter in August 2019. Here is a small excerpt:
Josh, you know that He used you to open my eyes and my heart to Him. He used you to lead me to be born again, as I have surrendered my life to Him and I have been truly transformed. I realize that I am a sinner and fall short, but I live every day to serve Him, to bring Him glory…
Who gets the glory? God. Who feels joy? Señor and me.
The reformers had a set of core beliefs that we call the Solas. Soli Deo Gloria was a Latin phrase that was both a doctrine and greeting of sorts. It means Glory to God alone. When it comes to Juan Baldor…Soli Deo Gloria. Or better yet in Spanish, Gloria solo a Dios.
Until…
You might be thinking okay, so God is in control and all things exist for God’s glory, but really, how does God get glory out of suffering or disasters or trials or calamity? It can be easy to see how God gets glory from a story of blessing and victory. Even God’s glory in the beauty of creation, a magnificent piece of art, or music makes sense. But suffering? How does God get glory out of that? Doesn’t that seem cruel and even sadistic?
When we think about this mystery, we are asking a fairly logical question: Why do bad things happen to good people? And at the same time, we are asking the question: Why do good things happen to bad people? Even the Psalmist wrestled through this confusion. He laments:
Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning. If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed the generation of your children. But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end. Psalm 73:12-17
Asaph, the writer, looked around and saw his own suffering compared to the prosperity of the wicked. He didn’t understand. As He tried to reconcile this reality, the puzzle seemed to just grow more complex and confusing. I love the word “until.” On his own he tried to make sense of his circumstances, but failed…until he went to God. Then he discerned. He realized the eternal judgment that is waiting for the wicked. He celebrates in his circumstance that God holds his right hand (vs. 23), guides him (vs. 24), promises to receive him into glory (vs. 25), strengthens his heart (vs. 26), and provides refuge in time of trouble (vs. 28).
Like Asaph, we can try to understand this reality on our own and grow exhausted and weary. Or we can have that “until” moment where we go to God and see Truth #3 – God’s ways are not our ways.
Prayer of confession and belief –
God, like a deer pants for water, my soul is thirsty for you. All that has been created is for your glory. I rejoice to know that I have been made for a high and holy purpose. I am thrilled to know that you are most glorified when I am most satisfied in you.[vi] And when I am satisfied in you, I am at my most joyous. Your glory and my joy are inseparable. First your glory, then my joy. Thank you Lord. Amen.
For further reading: Psalm 37:4; Psalm 42:1-2; Psalm 63:1-2; 2 Chronicles 20:12