For His Glory, but Who's Watching?

Solving the mystery of why God created man isn’t so difficult. Just start at the beginning.

Genesis.

There is water.

There is darkness.

There is not light.

There is not firmament. He creates heaven.

There is not dry land. He creates earth.

As He creates each thing, He sees it’s good and creates something more. He sees it’s good, and creates something more, continuing this pattern until He ends up with light and darkness, day and night, heaven, Earth and sea, grass, herbs that yield seeds, fruit trees from which the fruit’s seed is in itself, the sun, moon, and stars as sources of light to rule the day and night and give light on earth, sea creatures, every living thing that moves in the water, and the winged birds of the sky, beasts of the earth, cattle, and everything that creeps on the earth.

So He’s got this earth, with dry land, with seas gathered in their place, with living things everywhere, and it’s all pleasing to him – agreeable and excellent. “For thus says the LORD, who created the heavens, who is God, who formed the earth and made it, who has established it, who did not create it in vain, who formed it to be inhabited: ‘I am the LORD, and there is no other’” (Isaiah 45:18). God did not create the world to be formless, empty, and in a state of constant confusion, nor for vanity’s sake. He formed the earth to be inhabited. But He had no one to tend to it, so He made man to have dominion, setting him over the works of His hands (Hebrews 2:7) to rule and to reign (Psalm 8:6).

There it is. Case closed.

But a deeper question nags: Why did God even create earth in the first place? He knew Adam and Eve would eat fruit from the forbidden tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He knew man would reject Him, and sin would eternally separate creation from Creator without a Savior. He knew He would send His beloved Son, Jesus, to live a sinless life, die a dreadful death, and then raise Him from the dead and seat Him at His right hand in heaven, where He came from in the first place. And He predestined us, before the foundations of the earth, “ to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself” (Ephesians 1:5). Why not just keep everything the way it was, perfectly perfect in heaven in the first place?

I turn more dirt. Dig for clues. Evidence.

The trail leads to glory. His glory, as seen in Isaiah 43:7: “Everyone who is called by My name, whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him."

Glory in the face of Jesus, as 2 Corinthians 4:6-5:5 explains:

For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed – always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So then death is working in us, but life in you. And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, "I believed and therefore I spoke," we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that He who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus, and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

We are in these earthen vessels that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us; that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body; that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God, a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.

So it’s really all about Jesus.

“For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever” (Romans 11:36) All things – including man – are of Jesus, through Jesus, and to Jesus, for His glory. Colossians 1:16-22 expounds:

For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight.

And it’s about family.

Isaiah 64:8 says, “O LORD, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hand.” We are called sons:

And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives.” If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness (Hebrews 12:5-10).

Partakers of His holiness and His inheritance. “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs – heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together” (Romans 8:16-17).

So it all goes back to His glory.

"You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created" (Revelation 4:11).

So here we are on earth. One big happy family (or we should be), bringing glory to God.

But why earth? Why create man in the first place? Not to beat a dead horse, but couldn’t we glorify Him just as much in heaven? Why can’t we be one big happy family in heaven?

That’s when I see it. And it amazes me. The answer is in the audience.

More Thursday.

Until then, may the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face to shine upon you as you become more wholly His.

Shauna Wallace

Holy His

Why this Earth Thing?

Sitting in the drive thru one Monday afternoon, cheeseburgers, French fries, and root beer on order, conversation ebbed. Honestly, I don’t remember what we were talking about before rolling into Whataburger. I clearly recall, however, my daughter’s question as we waited for our food: “Why do we have to do this earth thing anyways, Mama?” Talk about a whopper! (Wrong restaurant, I know, but I couldn’t resist!) She was genuinely perplexed. Bothered. Struggling with understanding.

Our sweet 19-year-old friend, Katie Walker, had just died unexpectedly in a tragic car accident (see “Untimely Death. Timeless Hope.”). It was impossible to make sense of it. It was forefront in all our minds. At that moment, my daughter wasn’t wrestling with why it happened. Rather, she reasoned, if God knows who is going to heaven anyways, why even make us come to earth where there is pain, suffering, and death? For Ephesians 1:4-6 clearly states:

He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.

So if God chooses us from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth (2 Thessalonians 2:13), and He knows we’re heaven bound before He even gives us this suit of flesh, why do we have to do earth?

I sat thoughtfully for a long moment. I quickly scanned the mental computer for everything I’d ever read or heard that might serve as the right answer, but I didn’t have one. There were a few that sort of related, but just weren’t it. Like a pair of jeans that sort of fits, but not in the right places. I’d never encountered this particular question, so the answer just wasn’t in the data base.

“Well, sweetie, that’s a great question, and I don’t know the answer,” I replied. I talked a little about the fact that we’ll never fully understand God because He is God and we are human. I touched on His sovereignty and the reality of His goodness and love, that even when bad things happen, He is still God. He is still good. He is still faithful and trustworthy. And He still keeps His promises to us. But the reality is, I didn’t have an answer to her exact question.

In that moment, a conviction stirred to find it. It wasn’t enough to smooth it over with big-picture possibilities. She was openly wrestling with a make-it-or-break-it question. Only truth straight from the word of God would satisfy and build her faith in her time of deep questioning.

Determination dug its heels deep within me.

“I will find out,” I promised. Not an empty promise. Not an intention soon to be forgotten. It was a set-jaw moment. I would search until I found it. God’s word, a treasure trove for understanding. “For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light” (Luke 8:17). I asked the Holy Spirit to give me understanding. To show me the answer to her exact question. And I started digging.

Certain scriptures I’d literally skimmed dozens of times became substance for discovery. Like an archeological excavation. Sifting brought new and deeper understanding of familiar passages, laying out evidence of His truth before me. His promise in Jeremiah 29:13 stands true, “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.”

This journey in God’s word started at the beginning, with creation, and what I found was full of mystery, dominion, family, friendship, worship, glory, heaven, good works.

And then it happened. I stumbled upon the mother lode. A scripture I don’t remember ever having seen, even though I have read the Bible all the way through. My eyes must have encountered it at least once. But this time, the words stopped me in my tracks.

Thursday, I will begin sharing the answers God is showing me in His word. And His whopper of a revelation for her whopper of a question. But first, I want to say, I think one of the hardest truths to accept in our very finite human minds is that some things about God, what He’s done or is doing, and why are just going to be a mystery. Deuteronomy 29:29 explains, "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.”

The Lord chooses what He wants to divulge. If He has not made something known to us, it belongs to Him alone. And it is not our place to question. As Isaiah 45:9 makes clear, "Woe to him who strives with his Maker! Let the potsherd strive with the potsherds of the earth! Shall the clay say to him who forms it, 'What are you making?' Or shall your handiwork say, 'He has no hands'?” In the same way, Job 9:12 confirms, “If He takes away, who can hinder Him? Who can say to Him, 'What are You doing?'”

When we’re in the midst of a challenging time, however, it’s difficult not to question God. Not to resent the mystery of His ways. Not to demand answers. At the same time, I believe the degree with which we grapple with the things of God directly correlates with how we view God. In my upcoming book, Holy His: Hope for a Life and a Nation Wholly His, I explain:

Many of us have a warped idea of God based on people and/or circumstances in our lives, and we need to look into the word of God for the truth of who He is. When we do, we will see that He is “longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression” (Num. 14:18). He is “the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments” (Deut. 7:9). He is the One who goes with us, never leaving or forsaking us (Deut. 31:6). He is our rock, fortress, and deliverer (2 Sam. 22:2). He is perfect in all His ways; “a shield to all who trust in Him” (2 Sam. 22:31). He is our shepherd, and therefore, we shall not want (Ps. 23:1). He is our light and salvation and the strength of our lives, thus we shall fear no one (Ps. 27:1). He is our strength and shield; as our hearts trust in Him, we are helped (Ps. 28:7).

“The word of the Lord is right; and all His work is done in truth” (Ps. 33:4). The Lord is on our side; there is nothing man can do to us (Ps. 118:6). The Lord is our keeper and the shade at our right hand (Ps. 121:5). He is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in mercy (Ps. 145:8). He is “righteous in all His ways, gracious in all His works” (Ps. 145:17). He is the mighty and awesome One, and He is with us (Jer. 20:11a). He has thoughts of peace toward us, and not of evil, but thoughts to give us a future and a hope (Jer. 29:11). There is nothing too hard for him (Jer. 32.27). He is our portion and hope, and He “is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him” (Lam. 3:24-25). He is good, and “a stronghold in the day of trouble; and He knows those who trust in Him” (Nah. 1:7). He is our loving Father and knows the things we need before we ever ask Him (Matt. 6:8). He is our Father in heaven and desires to give good things to those who ask Him (Matt. 7:11). “He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). He is love (I John 4:8). “The Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Cor. 3:17). He is able to do “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us” (Eph. 3:20-21). He is faithful; He establishes and guards us from the evil one (2 Thess. 3:3). He is our helper; we have no reason to fear because there is nothing man can do to us (Heb. 13:6). He is not “slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9).

There is no more effective way to increase our faith than through prayer that recounts the goodness of God, His characteristics, and His works, from creation to this very day, including the things He’s done specifically in your life. Our faith must be anchored not in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God (I Cor. 2:5). There is no better way to be convinced of His power than to know what the scriptures say about Him!

And as we place our faith in this great and faithful God, He will disclose things to us. The Bible tells us, “He reveals deep and secret things” (Daniel 2:22), and “The secret of the LORD is with those who fear Him” (Psalm 25:14). He counsels and engages in familiar, intimate conversation with those who fear, revere, honor, respect, and stand in awe of Him.

As we fear Him, as we become more wholly His, we will know more of Him and His ways.

Shauna Wallace

Holy His