Beautifully Corrected

First, I want to start off by saying that the joy that comes to me whenever God illuminates truth to me personally absolutely thrills me and overwhelms me to a point at which I feel I could literally leap to the heavens because I am so filled to overflowing that there is nowhere on earth that could contain so much joy. Words do not aid me now to convey the depth of my heart but I will use their lame ability anyhow, since I so badly want to share what has been taking place by the power of God's incredible, indescribable grace. Whew. Okay, here goes.

So, I responded to God's call on my heart in the 11th grade to serve on the mission field (I guess to specify, full-time ministry, since we're all called to preach, etc.). At the time of my calling, I was brokenhearted about the lack of compassion in my heart, especially considering that I burned to be a doctor and felt led in that direction. God has faithfully answered my prayers and given me a compassion for others since that time (actually, He's gone a little overboard in that gift; I could do without some of the weepiness), but I must emphasize that the whole while, I strongly felt that I needed compassion to better help me carry out the goal of missions, which I thought was to lead people to Christ for their sake, i.e. to be saved from hell. Let me add emphasis to "their" sake. I felt that the most important thing, the entire goal of my life's work, was to further the kingdom of God FOR THE SAKE OF THE LOST. How wrong my thinking. How great is God to clarify His truths! This past Sunday, I came to understand through the expounding of Psalms 96 that the goal of missions works hand in hand with worship. What is worship? It is giving God the glory due His name. What is missions? Making the name of the Lord renown to the nations. Of course I knew all this. And in the back of my mind, there has always been some tension between what I knew was God's greatest passion (Himself) and what was my greatest passion (the lost). But I never thought it through enough to understand my wrong thinking. It should bother me that people are lost...why? Because He is not receiving glory from their lives. The beauty of their salvation is secondary. (But obviously, still great, since LOVE fueled Him to send Christ and save our souls through the process.)

Here comes the blessed part. This entirely changes my life. I am so ridiculously filled with peace and joy at this illumination because knowing that the glory of God is at stake alone, then I am left with this: regardless of mens' response to the Gospel I preach, regardless of the visible fruits of my life's passionate ministry, regardless even of the length of my life...if only I preach the name of Christ, if I make the name of the Lord known to the nations, then my "missions" falls under my life's goal of continued worship. How great is God! How gracious to place the work of the Spirit on Himself alone should we simply trust and obey in the pursuit of His glory.

Here comes a side note - this upsets another long-term argument I have fought within myself for so long. I have always thought that LOVE was the most prominent characteristic of God, being the ultimate driving force in His nature. I based this argument on I Cor. 13 ("the greatest of these is love") and ultimately on the fact that the entire Scriptures center on Christ's coming and His work of redemption. YET if LOVE were God's MOST driving force, He would have let sin enter His kingdom at the cost of His holiness. Instead, HOLINESS (which is of course, His very nature, bringing limitations and demands) is greatest and works WITH LOVE to allow sinful mankind to both enjoy redemption and fellowship with Him without compromising the demands of His nature to be worshiped as the glorious God that He is. This holiness WITH LOVE brings greater glory because His name is proclaimed through the joy of salvation. Psalms 99:3 "Let them praise Your great and awesome name - You are holy." I beg Him to correct all my wrong thinkings in these matters. Even in the beginning stages of understanding this truth, so many tensions I've dealt with through Scripture my entire spiritual life already seem to fall into place like a puzzle well-constructed (considering the WHOLE breadth of Scripture) in light of this new thinking. If you have stuck with me this far, thank you! I hope my change in thinking is clear. If Word comes to your mind as you read this that you feel would add to my understanding I would love so much for you to share it.