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How do you eat to the glory of God?
Photo credits: Image © Jeremy Brooks
How do you eat to the glory of God? Have you ever stopped to ask yourself that? I must confess that I rarely consider my lunchtime a God-glorifying occasion! For that matter, how do you drink to the glory of God? Paul tells us we should. In fact, he says ‘Whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God’ (1 Corinthians 10:31).
Whatever else this verse may have to teach us, I think it illuminates one simple, yet easily forgotten truth: Everything matters to God.
God is not simply concerned with so-called spiritual things: prayer, prophecy, evangelism, church planting, though He cares very much about each of those. ‘Whatever you do’ covers the broad span of life, from housework to leisure activities, childcare to office work. God wants to, and deserves to, be glorified in everything.
From the very beginning of Genesis, our call as people made in the image of God has been to cultivate, protect, take care of and bring order to God’s creation. We have been tasked with bringing out the beauty in all He has made.
This was the theme of our recent Everything Conference. Held at two locations, London and Leeds, we gathered over 1,000 people for a day of equipping, building relationships, and teaching on how to be salt and light wherever God has placed us. We had a great time, and I was thrilled by the palpable sense of energy and excitement that characterised the day.
It was great to meet people involved in all areas of society; caring for the needy in their communities, serving God diligently in shops, offices and public services across the nation, striving to glorify Him through the arts, or operating at a high level within the legal and healthcare professions. Each had their own stories of challenges faced, battles won, and work achieved to God’s glory.
This conviction that everything matters to God should mark us out increasingly in the coming years. It needs to become part of our ‘DNA’. As we plant churches and preach the gospel, we must also care for the poor, and equip people to shine in every part of life. We must be as diligent in our raising up of leaders in commerce, as we are church planters. We must invest in our artists as well as our elders. We must hold together, what many would seek to pull apart; God has called us to plant churches and be salt and light in the wider world.
It is our hope that the Everything Conference will continue to be a great encouragement to many to give themselves to work for the common good, and to develop the best in everything God has created. So, I am delighted to announce that Everything 2011 will be held at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in Westminster opposite Westminster Abbey and the Houses of Parliament on 26 March 2011. Andy Crouch, author of Culture Making, has agreed to join us as our keynote speaker. Andy is an extremely engaging communicator, and his book has been formative for many of us as we’ve thought through our call to renew culture.
I am excited by the potential of this combination of a deep commitment to church planting and serving our communities and the surrounding culture. This edition of Connect explores both aspects of that calling. As you read it, I hope you will be encouraged by the stories of people making a difference wherever God has placed them. I hope you will feel stirred about how you can personally get involved.
Originally published in Connect Vol 3 Ed 10 - September 2010
About the author
David leads ChristChurch London & the work of Newfrontiers in the UK. He is passionate about building churches that engage effectively with the surrounding culture and equipping Christians to have a positive influence in shaping society. He is the author of Planting Churches, Changing Communities.
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