The Goal

Colossians 3:17

And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father through Him.

Paul expressed the basic principle for all of our conduct as Christians in this letter to the Colossians. He takes away the stance of many of the nominal Christians who say that it really doesn’t matter how we live and establishes the truth that our sole purpose for living should be to bring glory to God.

I have discovered that a person needs to have a goal if they are going to accomplish much of anything. In fact, without a goal, people will wander in and out, up and down, without stability and purpose. The goal a person sets determines the path of action that they will take in life. If it is the goal of a young athlete to be a professional baseball player then you can be assured that he will be playing baseball during the summer season. He will then find a fall league to play in. During the winter months, you will find him working on weights, running and doing other things to train him in such a way so as to be able to reach that goal. The goal determines the course of action. It sets the rules of conduct for that person. In this process, things that help to reach that goal are adhered to and things that hinder in reaching the goal are shunned.

The same is true in the Christian life. If we make it our goal to be like Jesus and to bring glory to God, then everything that we do, in word or in deed will be determined by that goal. When we do this, we will begin to examine everything that we do in our day to day lives. Whatever helps to reach that goal will be endorsed as good and whatever does not help will be left out.

Many Christians have tried to water down this passage by saying that some, most, or many things should be done in the name of the Lord. The fact is that we should make it our goal to be bringing glory to God with our lives in everything that we do in word and in deed.