Glorifying the Father

Just hours before His death, Jesus prayed to the Father and said, “I have glorified you on the earth, having accomplished the work which you have given me to do” (John 17:5). Paul exhorted the Philippians to have the “mind of Christ.” To glorify the Father by accomplishing the work that He has called US to do should be our highest aim. What does this aim imply?

We are called to accomplish what He has called us to do. We are not called to do everything, and certainly not what He has given someone else to do. We do not glorify the Father when we try to do someone else’s work or become pre-occupied by their methods, successes, or failures. Only when we accomplish what He has asked US to do does He receive the glory.

We can accomplish what He has called us to do only when that call becomes the passion of our life. In John 4, Jesus said doing the Father’s will was His meat or His food and in John 9, He noted “I must work the works of Him that sent me.” If we can do anything other than the Father’s will, it is not our passion and the Father will not be glorified.

In order for our lives to bring the Father glory we must recognize our utter dependence upon Him. As long as we are doing things in our own power, we will do things that men and women can accomplish and those human accomplishments will be noted and honored as such. Jesus said “I can do nothing on my own initiative” (John 5:30). He made known His dependence upon the Father so that what was accomplished was clearly a work of the Father and He was glorified.

The Father is glorified when HIS CALL trumps OUR WILL. Never was this reality more clear than in the hours preceding Jesus’ death. “Now is my soul troubled,” He said, “but what shall I say Father, save me from this hour? But for this cause came I into this hour, Father Glorify thy Name!” The Father responded, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again” (John 12:27, 28). The ultimate response of relinquishing His will was witnessed in Gethsemane when while sweating great drops of blood He prayed, “Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done.” On the cross the Father’s justice was vindicated and His love fully demonstrated, the plan of Jesus was accomplished. The Father was glorified.

There will be struggle in carrying out the Father’s assigned work. Jesus struggled, but fixed His eyes on the “joy set before Him” and was thereby able to “endure the cross”, the Father’s purposed plan. And, we too, may accomplish our call and glorify the Father if we will look away from the odds stacked against us, refuse to listen to the enemies taunts, refuse to busy ourselves with the calls, tactics, or methods of others, and set our eyes on the joy of accomplishing His call in our lives, glorifying the Father and hearing Him say, “Well Done.”