Something like a beginning.

I guess a few things before I "write my first blog." 1. I'm a horrible speller (yeah for spell check) 2. I have a tendency to go overboard with the commas. 3. I've never finished a journal in my life so there's a good chance that I won't be a consistent "blogger." 4. I probably will lean towards the intense concerning my blog topics. With all that said, I guess I'll just write about what's been on my mind. That's how it works right?

The word of the week has been "incentive." I feel as though God has been asking me what my incentive for...everything is. Not in order to find out something He doesn't know, because well He's God, but more so to get me to examine what drives me to live. God has been asking me to look at what inspires me to worship Him, serve Him, love others, like I said...my incentive for everything.
What's funny is I thought I had a good answer, but I should have known because it was a quick answer and not exactly the correct one . God has to see this coming (again because He's God), I picture Him asking me questions like this with a smile on His face...Can God be sneaky? Well anyway, my quick answer was...Because when I do these things I feel that I'm living "life to the fullest/life abundantly." It's what makes me feel alive, satisfied...fill in the blank. It was everything you'd think God would want to hear, but the thing is the question seemed...unanswered. Not in like "a buzzz, wrong answer!" sort of way, but more like a "think about the question again" sort of way.
I can't remember how the answer managed to find its way into my head, but gently, as if it had been there all along, it cleared its throat and called my attention to itself. God's glory. That's the incentive. That's as simple as it gets. I feel that at the center of theology rest these two words. The totality of scripture...God's glory. The meaning of our existence...God's glory. The motivation and accomplishment of Jesus Christ...God's glory.
Why does this matter? I guess I'm just a little tired of seeing Jesus turned into this angelic Dr. Phil. We tell broken people living in a broken world that Jesus will fix all of your problems..."fill the God shaped hole in your heart" sort of thing. If I'm honest, my life since I've been a Christian has been far from perfect, in fact some of the lowest times have been since I've accepted Him as Savior, but here's the thing I've come to understand. The buddy Jesus can only last for so long, like a Band Aide it eventually falls off. Living in a world where horrible things happen to good people eventually proves that Jesus isn't necessarily out to make us "happy", He's after more. There has to be more of a reason for Jesus to die than my problems, my heart aches, and my tears, there has to be a bigger reason for Jesus to die...than me, and there is. Jesus is after more than happiness for the human race, He's after restoration. To return us to our purpose, why we were created in the first place. To be in a relationship with God, to bring Him glory.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think God's unconcerned with our problems, with our heartaches...He is the Father of all compassion, God is...Love. God does love us, and because He loves us He wants us to glorify Him. It's what He designed us for, its where we are most satisfied. Incentive, why I do...what I...do. God's glory.
This was definitely intense, way to long, and I'm not entirely sure it makes sense, but wow...this felt good.