Skip to main content

Romans 11:36: For From Him And Through Him And To Him Are All Things.


Romans 11:36
[36] For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. (ESV)

Someone asked me one day, "What is the meaning of life?" I replied, "To love God and enjoy him forever." They were not surprised at my answer. What would you have said? This is a key question that many people are wanting an answer for whether they verbalize the question or not. In our verse today the Apostle Paul sums up what life is all about. Everything is for God's glory!

From him are all things. We are incredibly blessed with many things. Life. Breath. Consciousness. Joy. Understanding. The list could go on. (Add some of your own blessings). The one who truly understands what life is about recognizes that there is a source for all of these wonderful blessings. All things come from him and warrant continuous praise and glory to be given to God.

Through him are all things. This speaks of God's sustaining power in the universe. Scientists like to speak of the laws of physics which govern all that is. Those laws are in place because the Creator put them there. This world will continue until such time God puts an end to it. He promises a new heaven and a new earth. In the meantime, all that exists is sustained through God's power.

To him are all things. Everything belongs to God. We are so foolish in thinking that we have accumulated wealth and out of our "generous" heart we give some of our finances to the Lord. The Psalmist gives us God's perspective in Psalm 50:10: "For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills." Everything is the Lord's

Given that everything in this world is; from God, and through God, and to God, what should our response be? To give him glory forever. Make it a daily effort to glorify God in everything.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Romans 8:18: For I Consider That The Sufferings Of This Present Time Are Not Worth Comparing

Romans 8:18 [18] For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. (ESV) Perspective. What an important word. Let's be honest. We do not like the idea of suffering. We will do almost anything to avoid any kind of suffering. Some churches have gone so far as to preach against the idea of suffering, declaring it to not be a part of the true believer's life. Paul is not shy about the topic. Paul uses the sufferings of this present time as a means to consider the greater glory that awaits us. Perspective. Paul is not in any way attempting to diminish our suffering. A view toward eternity puts our suffering in a proper understanding. Yes, our suffering is terrible. In the grand scheme of eternity it is not even worth comparison. Maybe you are thinking that Paul does not know what he is talking about when it comes to suffering. In 2 Corinthians 11 Paul describes countless beatings, often near death,

Romans 11:24: For If You Were Cut From What Is By Nature A Wild Olive Tree, And Grafted, Contrary To Nature, Into A Cultivated Olive Tree . . .

Romans 11:24 [24] For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree. (ESV) We continue looking at the illustration of an olive tree. The root of the tree is the covenant relationship relationship of God with Abraham. Abraham's faith is what this spiritual tree is built on. The first branches would have been the faithful people of Israel, who like Abraham, placed their faith in God. They believed God, just like Abraham, and it was credited to them as righteousness. There were branches of the people of Israel who never placed their faith in God. Because these branches were not true followers of God they were broken off of the tree. Faith in God was the essential element that made the branches true branches of this spiritual tree. Some branches remained. Others, the faithless unbelievers, were removed. After Jesu

Romans 15:20-21: And Thus I Make It My Ambition To Preach The Gospel, Not Where Christ Has Already Been Named

Romans 15:20–21 [20] and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, [21] but as it is written, “Those who have never been told of him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.” (ESV) We need to be reminded continually that the message of the Gospel is intended to move all across the world. Jesus said that his followers were to preach the Gospel, starting in Jerusalem, and continue preaching the Gospel to the whole world. Christians have not always been good at delivering the Gospel message as far and as often as they should. In the first century church it took intense persecution to motivate the disciples in Jerusalem to bring the Gospel to Judea and Samaria. Once the disciples fled to new regions they shared the Gospel wherever they went. Would the disciples have preached the Gospel without the persecution? We may never know. Some probably would have stayed in their co