day no. 17,269: going for the glory

“Sin is not seeking after glory, but rather falling short of it.” — Douglas Wilson, All the Condemnation

It is not a sin to strive for glory, it is a sin to fall short of the glory of God. 

Romans 3:23

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

So, you can sin by striving for a lesser glory, whether you reach it or not. If you fall short of that glory, it is not necessarily an additional sin, but it could be. If you shoot at the wrong target, you will not hit the right one, but you still might miss the wrong one.

You can sin by striving for a different glory.

You can sin by obtaining a lesser glory.

You can sin by falling short of the glory of God.

So, if you are aiming at the glory of God, the problem is not the direction you are trying to go, but the fact that you cannot get there. It is not that you are shooting at the wrong target, it is that you cannot hit the right target.

But Christ hit the target, dead center. He lived the righteous life we ought to have lived. He never missed the mark and always hit the target. Through Him the world is going to be baptized by His success. His glory is going to fill everything. The glory He obtained is going to be shared with the world until nothing no longer comes up short.

Habakkuk 2:14

For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

So go for the glory. 

In Christ, our aims are made straight and true.

1 Corinthians 10:31

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

day no. 17,268: the united apostates of america

“[Modern man] says, 'Neither in religion nor morality, my friend, lie the hopes of the race, but in education.' This, clearly expressed, means, 'We cannot decide what is good, but let us give it to our children.'" ― G.K. Chesterton, Heretics

Modernity combines the modesty of open-mindedness with the hubris of heathenism. It wants everyone to disagree on the ultimate things and everyone to agree to avoid disagreeable subjects. In short, it wants a neutral space and it claims that secularism is the only thing that can provide that sanctuary. But neutrality is impossible and secularism cannot build anything. Antithesis is woven into the warp and woof of the world by God Himself (Gen. 3:15) and the United Apostates of America is living off of its inheritance from Christendom after it asked for it in advance and walked out of the house of God. But that capital will not last forever. It is being spent, not invested. It is being squandered away, not stored up. And so we are becoming increasingly morally and spiritually bankrupt and soon enough the depression is going to hit.

The prodigal sons of the republic are one step away from envying pig slop and some have already developed a taste for waste.

Luke 15:11-14

And he said, A certain man had two sons: and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want.

America is like the prodigal son. She was born into a good home built upon Christian principles. And when she grew too big for her britches, she was given her portion of the fortune on demand. But the fortune was the Father's doing. She left the protection of her Father's house and began squandering her inheritance making friends with the world. But the riches, with no source now to replenish them, began to dwindle and the bank account evaporated.

This is our current cultural moment. All of our freedoms were inherited from the house in which America grew up, yet she has despised its foundation and abandoned them, wasting its riches on entertaining worldly friends. So America is poor and a famine of righteousness has begun to descend upon the land. America has not yet reached the point of want, however. She knows something is wrong and she can feel that she is broke, but hasn't hit rock bottom yet. She still refuses to turn her eyes back to her home. She still insists somehow that her upbringing is the reason she is going broke. So, rather than seeking to humbly return, she is conspiring with the world to make an assault on her former home to find more riches.

May America, like the prodigal son, find herself feeding the swine and wishing for something more, something that it used to possess, something that, Lord willing, could again be hers if she merely repented and returned in a spirit of submission.

And may the other America, the older sibling, back on the ranch, dutifully doing what has been required and enjoying the blessing of the Father's house, not resent the younger if and when she returns in humility -- for the riches she squandered, while lost opportunities, do not diminish the Father's ability to produce more.