Advancing in pain

The age-old question is if God is good, why is there so much pain. 

But maybe the answer is not what we usually think. Maybe God allows pain to remain to humble us and help us see our need for Him, with the long-term goal of our spiritual advancement. 

While pain is ultimately the fruit of our rebellious distrust of God, He uses it. If God could not bring good out of evil, evil would not exist. Christ's death would be the ultimate example of this profound paradox. 

Acts 2:23 "this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men."

Therefore, we must not allow it to discourage or shame us, or ¹cause us to fall into self-pity e.g. "You're a loser! Why keep trying? Just quit!..." etc. 

But we must embrace pain and embrace God and His love for us in our pain and failures for our advancement to occur (God is for us, not against us. Nothing separates us from God's love...Rom 8:31-39). 

"...Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 

and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us..." - Romans 5:2-5 ESV 

As long as we look at failure and mistakes as losing and not stepping stones to winning, we will not embrace them with thanks, learn from them, and let them advance our maturity and walk with God. When we recognize or failures and mistakes are a key to our spiritual advancement, we embrace them with gratitude and experience more of God's grace, mercy, and love. 

Having our identity/value rooted in God as the bedrock of our existence - and the very Source of love itself - frees us from seeing failure as losing. The whole mindset of the Bible is that ²failure is a necessary stepping stone to progress and maturity. 

"When all kinds of trials and temptations crowd into your lives my brothers, don’t resent them as intruders, but welcome them as friends! Realise that they come to test your faith and to produce in you the quality of endurance. But let the process go on until that endurance is fully developed, and you will find you have become men of mature character with the right sort of independence..." - Jas 1: 2-8. J B Phillips translation. 

This is foundational to understanding and embracing pain instead of a avoiding it. 

The importance of humility

Another vital key to the value of failure is humility. To understand we will never reach the maximum potential we were created for without God (which failure helps us to see) causes us to look to Him in greater dependence. Greater dependence on God as the Source of life, love, and all things is the essence of humility. Only through humility can we reach the potential God intends for us and designed us for.

How do we discover God's love in our pain? click here

For a further discussion on the primary role of pain click here

For a further discussion of how God uses evil for our good click here...and here.

The greater the evil the greater the opportunity for healing/

grace click here.

For a discussion on the key lesson from the book of Job, click here.

For a discussion on the value of paradox, click here.

For a discussion on the necessity of humility click here

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Footnotes:

¹nor let pain embitter us. At the root of anger is the belief that we know better than God what is best for us and/or the world. Yet we are finite, not all-knowing or all-powerful. Only God is infinite in all things. 

And not only so, but he is also all-loving. He not only knows what's best (all-knowing) and does what's best (all-powerful) but wants it for us also (all-loving).

But many object and say, "how can God be all-loving and continue to allow all the pain in the world?" What's our proof that He is all-loving? He became a man just like us and fully embraced our pain so that we might ultimately be free of it forever.

²This is contingent on our seeing failure as a means by which God can advance us. If we do not, it will embitter us.

Love and/or consequences

As God's children, we are no longer ³condemned by God for our ¹poor choices. Legally there is no ³condemnation for those who are in Christ.  

But neither are we ⁴protected practically from the short-term consequences of those choices and the actions that follow. 

The creation - which includes us as bearers of God's image - operates best according to God's design (law). To violate that design results in things not operating properly or fully.

When the legal consequences of our rebellious distrust are removed, it changes us. We are now "seated in the heavenlies" in Christ. Grasping this new reality of our status with God creates within us gratitude and love for Jesus, who removed the kegak consequences. 

There is a difference between a supernaturally changed heart and a morally restrained one. Love changes us. The law restrains us. Love changes us from within. The law restrains us from without. Both are necessary in making good choices. 

God's law is good and necessary because it lays out and defines how things are designed to operate. To ignore it results in harm to us and others.

These two realities - ⁷love and law - are the positive and negative guardrails that are intended to help drive or guide all true believers' words and actions. 

Love motivates believers to make the right choices (which leads to right actions). 

Fear (respect) of negative consequences motivates us to avoid the wrong ones. 

As God's children, we have no fear of rejection by God, but should still recognize and fear that living contrary to His design always has practical - vs legal - negative consequences. 

As image bearers of God, all our choices matter because we are created to love and honor God. To live contrary to this design results in harm and destruction to ourselves and others. Consequences aren't a direct judgment of God but the organic result of violating God's design.

As God's children our choices do not matter as far as being perfectly loved and accepted by God. In Christ we are always infinitely and perfectly loved and fully accepted and embraced. 

But as the bearers of God's image our choices still must align with how God designed us and the world around us to operate.

These two realities - love and law - appear to be at ⁶odds with each other. But being fully loved and ²experiencing consequences for poor choices are each as true as if the other does not exist. But because of Christ these ⁵exist and work together. Both for our ultimate gain and benefit. 

For a further discussion on the "anatomy" of motivation, click here. 

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Footnotes:

¹By poor choices I simply mean disobedience. Disobedience is the resulting outcome (actions) of our rebellious distrust of God. (This always result in harm to ourselves and others). And distrust is at the heart of our choosing to be our own god. Our desire to be like god - in a way we are not designed to be - was the temptation our original parents bought into that brought pain and death into the world. 

We still operate this way to this day, perpetuating that pain. The present pain, suffering and death we see in the world now reminds us that our choices still matter.

²God may mercifully suspend the the full consequences of poor choices when we sincerely acknowledge them - i.e. "repent." But there is no guarantee. This would be a supernatural intervention and interference of their natural (organic) outcome. Without His mercy (intervention) the consequences will remain, hence His intervention is merciful.

Plus only God knows the sincerity of our heart (and what best aids our maturing) and when we truly abandon (turn away or repent of) a poor choice or only pretend to in order to get some kind of relief or benefit. 

God's objective is our drawing nearer to Him, which is a matter of the heart first. This results in a change in behavior.

³Why are we no longer legally held accountable and condemned for our words and actions contrary to our design and God's will? Because Christ was condemned in our place. The very fact that someone (Christ) was condemned means God's law (will, design) matters. It is vital that these are adhered to. There are always consequence for violating it (them). Because of Christ stepping in for us and taking the condemnation we rightly deserve,  the long term legal consequences no longer fall on us but fell on Him. Instead of the judgment and death rightly due us we are given forgiveness and life. These were earned for us not by us.

For those who ask why there is still pain and suffering in the world after Christ bore the legal consequence of mankinds rebellion, it is because our choices that spring forth from our rebellious distrust of God matter. 

⁴there are also benefits (positive "consequences") for operating according to God's design. Whatever we sow - both good and bad - we also reap. This is why non believers can flourish circumstantially by operating according to God's law. 

Nowhere does the Bible indicate the law is bad, but the opposite. It is seeking to justify ourselves through obedience to God's law that is wrong, not the law itself. 

⁵"Steadfast love and faithfulness meet; righteousness and peace kiss each other." - Psa 85:10 

⁶Our natural inclination is to try to earn God's love. This is why those who claim to be believers have a hard time acknowledging how they come up short. In their minds this means our rejection by God. In order to be fully honest about our rebellious condition we must see God's perfect acceptance and embrace of us because of Christ.

To believe this it is possible to earn God's love does not recognize we can never be perfect enough to earn it. This is why Christ came.

⁷giving us the law is actually an indication and expression of love. What we value most we desire is well cared for. Because everything operates best by design, giving direction on how something (someone) functions best is because we value i.e. love it (or them). Law is not our problem. Using it in an attempt to justify ourselves is our problem. It is a misuse of the law. 

AI edit...

The gift of the law reflects love, as we seek to care for what we cherish most. When we value something—or someone—we provide guidance to help it thrive according to its design. The law itself isn’t the issue; the problem arises when we use it to justify ourselves. This is misuse of the law. 

Combined...

The gift of the law is actually an indication and expression of love. We seek to care for what we cherish. Because everything operates best by design, giving direction on how something (someone) functions best is because we value it i.e. love it (or them). Law is not our problem. Using it in an attempt to justify ourselves is our problem. It is a misuse of the law. 

Which is it... sinners or like God?!

God's love for ⁴us is without conditions. FULL STOP! i.e. to be fully accepted and embraced by God requires nothing from us. God's love for us is based on someone else meeting the requirements, ¹not us. Accepting the offer that Jesus met what God requires is the only thing required of us. 

However, that doesn't mean there is not a good reason for His infinite love for us. There is a major reason. He values and therefore loves us because we are like him - in His image. 

This has nothing to do with what we do but with who we are, who God made us to be. It is not our trying to make ourselves more acceptable and loveable to Him or others.

This is why He loved us before we lifted one finger for Him. In fact even while we were still in our state of rebellious distrust of Him.

"...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us..." - Romans 5:8

"...But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—..." -  Ephesians 2:4-5 

Have you ever scratched your head wondering why he would value and love us while we were still in a state of rebellious distrust toward Him (i.e. "sin")? It is because our rebellion did not cancel out or erase our being like God, it only marred and suppressed it - though severely. 

This resulted in our spiritual sight and sense going completely dormant (until His Spirit opens our eyes). We are now "unplugged" from God (the source of all things), broken, and blind to seeing His infinite worth, beauty, and love. As a result, we ascribe the worst possible intent by God on why we struggle or experience loss and pain. The Bible describes this as being spiritually blind and dead to God. 

But our capacity for love, light, and life didn't go away and is still fully intact - we are still like God - even when we don't trust Him i.e. we still are designed to love and be loved and we long for this. We are hard-wired for love, if you will, because God is love and we are like Him, created to be in a community of love with Him. 

God values and loves our being like Him because we still have the capacity to fully partake of the community of love that God is as Father and Son in, by, and through the Spirit. 

This capacity for infinite love never went away; it only ceased to function properly i.e. it went dormant if you will. In our broken and spirituality-blind condition, we now long for the wrong things - instead of the only true thing that can fill our longing for love - because we are blind to the true Source of love and life - i.e. our Creator.

A recap and summary 

Our being in God's image is vital to how God sees us and who we are. This means there is good reason for Him to love us i.e. because of who we are, not what we do. 

We are not just rebellious - aka "dirty rotten sinners." This is true but only half the story - and the far lesser half - once we accept his offer. The more important half is we are still also like God with an infinite capacity to fully engage, delight in, and commune with the Infinite God and experience His infinite love, glory, and joy!!!

Being like God has nothing to do with what we do (our good deeds) for others (God and other bearers of His image) - when it comes to establishing a good standing with Him - but has to do with something about us - i.e. who we are, not what we do. 

God's love has nothing to do with something that comes from us or is offered by us - i.e. something we do in an attempt to earn His love or appease His disapproval. 

Our only requirement is to recognize that Christ did everything necessary to fully restore us to His Father and accept this as a free gift (the essence of the gospel - good news - of grace). 

Do you receive this? If you only know this in your head but haven't fully believed it, you only need to recognize He did everything necessary to restore you so He can pour out His love on you. A love He already has for you that you are blocking by your not believing this good news. Because nothing you can do will restore you to God...nothing - not your abilities or good deeds!!! 

Accept His offer of complete restoration. If you are sincere in accepting and receiving His offer of perfect love, He will legally and immediately restore you now, and ²completely upon His return.

"The Spirit and the Bride say, 'Come.' And let the one who hears say, 'Come.' And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price (you can't buy it or earn His acceptance of you)." - Revelation 22:17 

For God to have a relationship with us in the same way the Father and the Son have with each other, we had to be like him in one essential way i.e. we had to be able to receive and return love to God like God does between and among the Father and Son, in, by, and through the Spirit - i.e. God IS love. Love is the central and essential core of who God is!!! We are like Him i.e. we are hard wired for this same love. 

But love for God first, not just between each other. Our love for others must flow out of our love for God. This is why the greatest commandment is to love God first, then our neighbors. 

Does God need anything from us? No! He has Himself i.e. He is complete within Himself.

But when we say he loves us without conditions, that is not to say he doesn't have longings and desires for us and from us. He yearns to commune with us. Why? Because we are like God and God is love. He longs for us to experience the fullness of who He is so, like Him, we too experience it.

He is the source of love, life, and all things and knows our greatest meaning, purpose, and joy is found only in Him!! His calling us to love Him above everything else is because He knows He is our best and desires our best i.e. God is love.

James 4:5 says:

"Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, 'He yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made to dwell in us' ”?

Nevertheless, His love for us is without conditions i.e. no deeds are required from us in order for His love to be set on us.

This is possible only because Christ fulfilled all the conditions ³required and necessary for him to remove the barrier between us and love us freely and fully. Even to the point that the Father loves us in the very same way He loves His only eternally begotten Son. Jn 17:23.

"I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me."

So does our love and pursuit of God matter since it's not required?

While there should never be ⁴expectations or conditions put on us for the gifts freely given to ⁵us or on others for the gifts we gladly give them, it is legitimate to enjoy and eagerly anticipate the appreciation from others for those gifts.

When gratitude is shown for the gifts we graciously receive, it delights the giver because they know their gift (and love) is not just accepted but also enjoyed and appreciated.

This reminds us of the 10 lepers that Christ healed and only one returned and showed gratitude. As a result, Christ engaged him further because he demonstrated by returning to Christ that he appreciated what Christ did. Lk 17:12-19.

To hope for and enjoy someone else's appreciation for what we give them is different than ⁵demanding their gratitude.

This also happens to be how God loves us and enjoys a relationship with us. God doesn't ⁶demand our obedience in exchange for His love. He delights in it. We are this way because God is this way. We are in his image.

In order for him to have this kind of love relationship with us we had to be like him as much possible without actually being him.

For a further discussion on why God loves rebels but not rebellion click here 

Are we rebels against God? Click here 

For a further discussion on the solution to our rebellion click here. 

For a further discussion on why God delights in our love click here.

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¹Who met them? Christ!!! For only He could, not us!

²The claims of Christ and His return!! and Knowing God but not fully yet.

³this is necessary because we fail to. No one fulfills the greatest commandment to love God with everything we are and have. Do you? I certainly don't!

⁴Expectations and conditions come from those who need love. God wants our love but doesn't need it. He is love as a community of love among the Father, Son, and Spirit. And when we are filled with His love we are the same way i.e. we don't need the love of others because we already have the perfect love of God.

⁵Who is "us." Is it humanity in general or us who have trusted Christ? It is both. God values all his image bearers by virtue of them being like him. But only those who accept his offer of restoration actually participate in and experience that love as we are designed to.

⁶We demand things from others only because we believe we must have them in order to be loved. God doesn't because He is already a community of love between the Father and Son in, by, and through the Spirit. He doesn't need us in order to be complete (whole) and therefore does not need to demand our obedience. 

However because He is love he delights in our entering into and participating in his love. He seeks - "requires" - us to love him because he knows that is where we are most complete and find greatest joy.

loving and valuing...the same?

In considering the definition of love, I found the word value helpful. But I have also found myself wondering how ¹value is similar and different from love. 

Is there a difference? If so, what is it? Let's dive in.

Objective vs personal value

Something can be objectively valuable without our personally valuing it or even being aware of its value.

To say it another way, something can be infinitely valuable (objectively) without being valuable to us personally (subjectively).

God would be a classic example. He is infinitely valuable (without Him nothing would be) though He is ²not personally valued by most - at least not to the extent of His true value. I would even suggest that only Christ fully grasps and appreciates the value of the Father. 

For something to have actual value means there is something objectively and innately valuable, important, or significant about a person or thing first, regardless of whether we personally value them (it) or not. 

How are subjective value and love connected?

To personally value something is to also have affection for it i.e. to feel love for something. Loving affection involves experiencing emotional delight in that thing or person we value. Loving affection is an indication we have personal regard ³for the value of someone or something. It is both subjective as well as objective. 

Valuing something more than its worth

On the other hand, to value someone or something does not necessarily make them or it valuable objectively, only subjectively. This involves personal affection toward what is considered valuable by the beholder, even when it may not be valuable objectively, i.e., it is not actually or objectively as valuable to others as we think or feel. 

For example, we can meet someone charming who we feel could be important to us, who turns out to be nothing like they presented themselves to be. The reality of who they are doesn't match the appeal of who we thought they were or who they presented themselves to be.  

Valuing things vs persons

A classic example of a thing (vs a person) not being as valuable as we thought would be a product that doesn't equal or live up to the promise or "sales pitch" e.g. a job, a certain level of wealth, a potential partner, a particular car, a bigger house, even something simple like a purse or a pair of shoes etc. As we learn and experience more about these things, the actual value doesn't match the hope - or hype. As a result, we often despise the very things we sought so diligently when they do not deliver what we sought them for. 

It is pretty common for all of us to place a higher value on someone or something more than it's actually worth. 

Overvaluing is not the same as something having no value at all

Overvaluing something doesn't mean there is no value. Certain things may give you some happiness initially, but not to the extent you hoped, thought, or were told. They may be good things, but not the best thing, and not to the extent we thought.

One reason this difference is significant is that we may have a greater affection or love for something beyond what it deserves. We can love something to the point of worshiping it (and often do) when in reality it will never deliver long-term what we want, need, or believe it will. 

Not fully experiencing something's true value

We can also appreciate the beauty and value of something objectively without ever personally participating in its full value e.g. we can see and smell an exquisite meal -- which is participation on a limited level.  And observe others eating and enjoying it, but we will not fully experience or benefit from it until we eat it ourselves. It is no less valuable because we don't eat it; it is just not fully valuable to us experientially or personally i.e. subjectively. 

We can observe the beauty or strength of another, yet never personally experience these qualities through direct participation. A fiancé can admire the physical beauty of his soon-to-be bride (or the strength and protection of her soon-to-be husband) but not fully partake of and experience that beauty (or strength) until they are married.

Value is ⁴foundational and a fundamental part of loving. It must exist first. But having loving affection for someone is personal in nature, whereas someone or something having value is an objective fact. 

Valuing from afar vs the nearness of love 

Valuing has more to do with our recognition of something's value from afar. Love/affection has more to do with intimacy (closeness) and personal enjoyment of that which is valuable.

Also, when we value something, it is usually more utilitarian or functional than affectionate.  

The most valuable of all

God is the Creator and Sustainer of all things, thereby making Him the most significant and valuable being in the universe. Without Him, nothing exists, including you and I. 

Yet many do not recognize this or have any affection toward Him i.e. God is valuable (objectively) even when He is not ⁵personally (subjectively) valued.  

A skewed view of God

Some even despise God for various reasons, despite His infinite worth. Usually, this is because He didn't come through for them in the way they thought he should. For these people, even though God is objectively valuable, he is not personally (subjectively) attractive.  

The problem however isn't with God but our view that He is some kind of celestial butler who should cater to our every whim. But this would not be God at all. God is all-knowing, loving, and able to do what He knows is best, not what we may think is best. 

By definition, God is controlled by no one. He is guided by His perfect understanding, not our limited understanding. He is the reason He does what He does in the way He does it. Because only He is all wise, loving, and powerful. We are not - though we often think and act as if we are. We are often pretty foolish (fooled).

God values us?

God not only values us as His image bearers but also enjoys our interaction with him. He is delighted when we are delighted in Him. He is happy when we are happy in Him. He finds pleasure in our experiencing pleasure in and from our relationship, fellowship, and communion with Him. In short, He not only values us, He also loves us. Or if you wish you could say He not only loves us but values us. 

God values all his image-bearers by virtue of them being like Him, but he does not have a personal relationship with or affection for all of them. That relationship with the accompanying affections is experienced by those who recognize Him as the Source of love, life, and all things. Those he has personal affection for, He pursues and draws to himself. 

If this article tugs at your heart in any way, He is pursuing you. If it doesn't, pray He has mercy on you and stirs your heart to seek Him. No one comes to Christ unless the Father draws them. Jn 6:44

For a discussion on why God delights in our delight, click here.

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¹by value I simply mean something of importance, e.g. When we say someone has strong values, we mean certain things are very important to them, such as family. When we say someone has strong family values, we mean they place high importance on their family over other persons or things. 

²The only reason God is not personally valued, i.e. loved by most, is because they do not recognize and acknowledge all they are and have is from Him. By definition, this is part of what makes Him God i.e. He is the Creator and Sustainer of all things.

And this is usually because of all the pain and suffering they experience and see others experience. They assume if God existed, he would address all the pain and suffering (which He has, only not on their terms but on His - which are the best terms, because only He knows what is best since He knows and sees all things). We question and doubt God's love and goodness because we don't understand the cause and purpose behind pain. For a further discussion on this click here.

³something cannot be truly loved or worth loving until it is first valuable (objectively) and then valued (subjectively).

⁴The opposite is true for the same reason. Someone who has personal regard for us also has affection for us. 

This, however, doesn't mean someone has to have affection for us to treat us in a loving manner. They can treat us well simply because they recognize our value, i.e. that we are worth being treated well by virtue of being in God's image - i.e. like God. And because God has called us to treat others as we wish to be treated, we desire to honor his wishes. 

⁵How many people regularly and consistently show God gratitude for all they are and have? Do you do this yourself? 

Here's a clue. None of us does. That's why someone else (Christ) had to do this for us and actually did it. If you believe this, He will credit this to you as if you did it.   

The essence of relationships

What is the essence of relationships?

All relationships consist of giving and receiving love (value).

However, different types of relationships occur in a variety of ways between various parties.

What makes them unique is the form or manner in which love and value are expressed or exchanged, i.e., what kind of relationship it is and who the persons with whom love and value are shared. 

Is it between God our Creator and His image bearers (you and I), husband and wife, parent and child, siblings, friends, extended family, business partners or associates, fellow believers, etc.?

Each kind of ¹relationship has unique characteristics that the others do not have - i.e., a unique way of showing love and value - while also the same, in that they all share love and value in some form with the other person or object of our love. 

For example, physical intimacy between a husband and wife is unique to that relationship. Love expressed in this way is only legitimately expressed between them and not others or other kinds of relationships.

Physical intimacy makes the marriage union the ²most complete human relationship. Marriage embodies the expression of giving and receiving love in all forms - friendship, companionship, partnership, and physical intimacy - within a single relationship.

Each kind of relationship is valuable and designed by God to reveal something about Him (and us) that the other types of relationships don't. The nature and vastness of God are too great to be fully displayed by any one kind of relationship alone.

How does God fit into all this? 

God himself is relationship as Father and Son in, by, and through the Spirit, and the basis for all relationships. All relationships reflect something of who He is and what He is like.

Therefore, we find the most joy in relationships with persons other than God when we understand and recognize that ultimately they are all gifts from God designed to reveal something about who He is and what He's like, not only to us but to each other. This adds to and aids our understanding of God and helps us appreciate Him more. This also adds greater fullness and meaning to all ³secondary relationships outside of Him, i.e., they are expressions of His love for us.

The highest form of love (and therefore relationship) is God's love. Why? It is the only love that does not require love to be given in return. It is a kind of love that flows out of the fullness of who God is, not out of something needed or missing within God. It is unique and the highest kind of love. It is giving, never taking.

Because God ⁴is love, relationship for God is the "natural" - i.e. organic - outcome of who He is; a being of relationship between the Father and Son, in, by, and through the Spirit. 

This triune relationship has always been from all eternity past. There has never been a time when God was not in a relationship of giving and receiving love. 

God never requires our love ⁵in order to give us His. His love is overflowing and sacrificial, i.e., always giving (and receiving), never taking. And this is because He doesn't need our love, therefore neither requires it - at least not for His sake. 

One of the most well-known passages in scripture says, "God so loved the world he gave... " What (who) He gave is not something trivial. He gave the most valuable and significant "thing" He could give - the eternal Son of his infinite affection. 

God's love only and always gives and never takes. Not because God doesn't want or enjoy our love in return, He simply doesn't need it (though it is always welcomed and delightfully received when given by us).

Though we occasionally show sacrificial love ourselves - often in "fits and starts" - God always operates this way. He always operates out of fullness, never out of need. He is always overflowing in love and always has from all eternity past between the Father and Son in and through the Spirit, long before we ever came into the picture.

" ...For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor so that you by his poverty might become rich." - 2 Cor 8:9

" ...because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in our trespasses. It is by grace you have been saved!" - Eph 1:4-5

"...God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. - Rom 5:8‭-‬10

For related discussions, the following links are offered:

Man...saint or sinner

Man's dilemma

God is relationship

AND

God is nonstop love beauty and glory

Is the wrath of God unfair? Click here.

Why are relationships important? Click here

The giving and receiving of glory/love click here.

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Footnotes:

¹Relationships are so much a necessary part of who we are that adults who choose to remain single will often have pets to be in a relationship with another being - even if only on a simple and limited level with a pet. While pets are wonderful gifts from God and provide a kind of companionship, they come nowhere near the level of a God-centered, vibrant, and healthy human relationship.

²Because of this form of love, marriage is the only relationship that produces offspring i.e. another bearer of God's image. This makes marriage the highest form of relationship - closest to the union of Father, Son, and Spirit - and why the fruit of its union - children - is sacred.

³The best marriage or best relationship between a child and parent or siblings is one that is exercised by the love and forgiveness of God.

⁴Love is central to or the core of God's being.

⁵The Father accepts and totally embraces Christ's love on our behalf i.e. as if it were our own love. 

God also poured out the consequences of our rejection of Him and His love onto Christ, as if Christ rejected the Father. 

All this is offered and given as a gift when we place our trust in Christ and what He did on our behalf. 

The only question is, do you believe and receive what Christ did for you? You will never experience the transforming benefit He offers to you otherwise.

Seeing God's love in our pain

"that I may know him (Christ) and the fellowship of his suffering's…" - Phil 3:10

What is the "fellowship" of Christ's sufferings that Paul desires to take part in - and we, by his example, are also invited to partake in? 

Whatever it is, we must participate in (experience) the "fellowship of his sufferings" to have a deeper understanding of Christ, i.e., who he is, what he did, and why he did it. This is directly connected to knowing him better, as indicated by the above opening comment "...that I may know him..."

What about our suffering? Does our suffering help us to see and know Christ better? How?

Stated simply, if we are to know and appreciate Christ more fully and the depth of His love, we must see and enter into Christ's suffering through our own, i.e. we share in (fellowship with) His pain through ours. The more we suffer the greater opportunity we have to understand and appreciate Christ's suffering.

But how are our pain and experiencing Christ's love connected?

Our pain helps us to more fully understand, appreciate, and sympathize with Christ's pain. The greater our pain, the greater our potential understanding of Christ's, i.e. we can relate to Christ's pain better because of our own. 

Whenever we are in pain, we should reflect on Christ's ³struggles and all the spiritual, emotional, and physical pain he went through for us. The more pain we experience the more deeply we can "enter into" and partake of His - if we choose to and let it.

The more we see and enter into His pain through our own, the more we can also see the depth of his love that moved Christ to suffer on our behalf. 

Seeing the depths of his love in turn causes us to love him more.  

If you wish to love him more, be grateful for your pain, if only because of how it can reveal to you Christ and the immense depth of His love for you more fully. How? By his embracing the pain you and I deserved - that He did not deserve - so we might see and experience His immense love even more.

To expand this further, the more we see His pain, (ultimately caused by us choosing to be our own "god" when we are not) the more fully and deeply we see the ¹greatness of His love that moved Him to embrace our pain (and the consequences of the pain we cause others) so He might free us from condemnation rightfully due us for the harm/pain we cause others. 

Grasping the depth of Christ's pain rarely happens without us first going through our own pain. The greater ²our pain, the more fully - and the greater the opportunity for us to appreciate ²His i.e. we are better able to understand and "fellowship" with Him in His sufferings through our own suffering, and thereby also more fully enter His love. 

Pain is a two-way street for both Christ and us

We are also reminded that because of his pain, he understands and appreciates ours better as well. He can better fellowship with us in our pain because of His own i.e. We are united with Christ in and through our mutual suffering. 

Amazingly, Christ chose to identify with us in this way! We will have this in common with Him throughout eternity and will be reminded of this - of His immense love for us - every time we look upon Him and behold the scars He carries and experienced for us.

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Heb 4:15-16

Pain can help produce two overriding positive outcomes if we let it. 

1. It can humble us by revealing the depths of our need and inability to cope with the pain alone, i.e., without God.

2. It can cause us to more fully appreciate the sufferings of Christ and the greatness of his love that moved him to suffer on our behalf.

These are two vital reasons we should never shrink back from pain and suffering, but instead be thankful for it. In doing so, this enables us to more fully see and take part in his great love.

If you want to know your level of trust in Christ and the strength of your love for Him, ask yourself how much pain are you willing to go through for His sake? 

This is a question Christ asked of himself while suffering for us, and he answered with a resounding "whatever it takes." His willingly going to the cross for you and me was the result of His saying yes to pain. 

How much pain am I willing to go through for His sake?... is a question we may wish to ask ourselves. One I ask myself often.     

Christ asked that question and answered by giving up his life, and allowing this to disrupt His eternal union with the Father. 

"“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.."

"By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers."

For a further discussion of how God uses evil for our good click here...and here. 

The greater the evil, the greater the opportunity for healing/ grace click here.

For a discussion on the key lesson from the book of Job click here.

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¹When people question the goodness and love of God because of all the pain in the world (including their own) they miss the bigger picture and cannot see that Christ took on the pain of the world and let it kill him so he might ultimately free the world and us from it. Pain is not the final word regarding evil. Christ is!

 

The big question isn't why there is suffering and why God allows good people to suffer, but why God allowed Christ - the best and only perfect person - to suffer. 

And maybe a more important question... what is the Father saying to us and about us by allowing it? Hint...He loves us that much.

Until we answer these questions, we can never fully understand, accept, and willingly (gratefully) embrace our own pain and the world's pain. 

We are so jaded towards God that we forget that God so loved the world that he gave. The greatness of love is measured by the greatness of the gift and the sacrifice one is willing to make to give it, i.e. the more the gift costs, the greater the evidence of the givers love.

And what did God give? His very own Son (think of Abraham being asked and willing to sacrifice his son Isaac). The Son of his infinite and eternal affections. 

Christ's death was not barbaric; it was an expression of extreme love and a willingness to take on our suffering so we might be forever free from it... but only if we will accept His offer.

If we do not, there is no other solution!

The whole notion that the infinite and all-powerful Creator and Sustainer of everything would take on human form and even consider going through undeserved pain for our benefit is mind-boggling when we stop and reflect deeply on this. 

After reading this, I encourage you to do just that. Think deeply about these things often. Ask God to give you a fuller vision and understanding of His love for you through His and your pain. Let them seep deeply into your very being and transform you and your love for God. 

The Father and Son fully understand pain because they fully embraced and experienced it themselves. The Father embraced the pain of giving up the Son of His eternal affections and the Son embraced His greatest pain by allowing it to separate him from the eternal affection of His Father for a time. This "severing" of their relationship was a far greater pain than any physical suffering.

The only reason that people continue in pain after this life is that they refuse to see and receive God's remedy, which is Christ and all He suffered (willingly) at the hands of ungrateful and wicked men for our sake.

²Particularly for condemnation, persecution, and rejection.

³Has someone closest to you ever betrayed you? Have you ever had anyone twist your words, misrepresent you, speak ill of you, or not come through on their commitments or promises to you? Have you ever been unappreciated for sacrificial service to others? Have you ever had anybody forsake you in your greatest hour of need? Christ experienced these and far more with one big difference. He never complained and did nothing to deserve it. And He did all this for us so we wouldn't have to. And to also honor His Father. 

Sowing and reaping

In the parable of the sower, Christ addresses the different results of those hearing the good news of God's kingdom. The question this article seeks to address is whether advancing the kingdom occurs only by ¹sharing  the good news verbally? Can the kingdom of God be advanced by other means such as our deeds (work/job/money/ business) as well as our words? If so how?

2 Cor 9:6-11 talks about a financial gift the church in Corinth had promised to the church in Jerusalem. Paul is encouraging the Corinthian believers to follow through with this gift in a way that honors God and why they should give it. The sowing and reaping Paul is addressing here is clearly about money, how we obtain it, use it, and increase it.

So what does money have to do with advancing the gospel of the kingdom? We usually don't think of advancing the gospel financially. After all the gospel is spiritual in nature, not material... or is it? We usually think the pursuit of money is in conflict with and contrary to advancing God's kingdom; that the kingdom advances through our poverty, (e.g. blessed are the poor...Lk 6:20) not through wealth. 

Can we make money, use money, do business, and advance the gospel of the kingdom for the glory of God with money? If so, how?

2 Cor 9:6-11 captures the essence of how to use material resources to love others and advance God's purposes, kingdom, and glory.

In general terms, it always takes resources to advance any endeavor. Be that our time, talents, skills, money, or other resources. God's kingdom is no exception. His kingdom may be spiritual in nature but it still involves advancement in this physical or material world. Simply because God's kingdom, in essence, is spiritual does not make money somehow unnecessary (as if God will sustain His purposes in this material/physical world without physical resources or that the fruit of financial profit or material gain from our efforts are somehow not dignified enough to advance God's purposes). 

In short, God's kingdom may not be of this world but it certainly must advance in and on it. Therefore we must utilize the resources of creation - whether this involves the use of our personal or internal gifts (i.e. skills, talents, experience etc.), or external gifts such as money, time, and material resources - to obtain what is necessary to advance God's purposes in this world as well as the next. Laying up for ourselves treasures in heaven still requires obtaining and having treasures in this world that we can lay up.

And of course, it takes a job or a business or investments to make money. It always has and always will. As the saying goes money does not grow on trees. 

If you are following the series "The Chosen" note how it illustrates the necessity of making money to support Jesus and His disciples. Zebedee, the father of the disciples James and John started an olive oil business just for this reason.

Money in itself is also neither good nor bad no more than any resource or gift God gives us. How and why we make it and use it determines this.

So what are the key principles to advancing God's kingdom through business/work and money?

We find 3 in 2 Cor 9:6-11

"The point is this: 

(principle ¹) - whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully." 

(principle ²) - "Each one must give (not only our money but our time, energy, talents, and the necessary resources to generate more money) as he has decided in his heart" (he must decide beforehand how much he's willing to give/give up/sacrifice before he starts sowing and watering), 

(principle ³) - "not reluctantly (unwillingly) or under compulsion (forced), for God loves a cheerful giver..." (whatever you do, do it out of love - cheerfully - for God and your fellow man...Not to win the acceptance or praise of others).

These 3 principles above can be summarized as follows:

1. Great results ⁴require great effort and great effort for God's honor always produces great results now and in eternity. This is foundational to the overall principle of sowing and reaping.

2. Decide beforehand that you are willing to do ²whatever it takes to accomplish the task/mission God has given you. Be deliberate, not haphazard, in your effort and approach. We must approach every worthwhile, God given endeavor with a  "do-or-die" attitude if we are to obtain whatever God calls us to. Just because God calls you to a task does not mean it will be easy or not require great effort. 

Nothing worth pursuing will be easy. We are told we will encounter thorns and thistles in our labor. Don't be surprised by roadblocks or setbacks, expect them. Resistance is not necessarily an indication God is not in a certain endeavor i.e. that He disapproves of it because of set backs or challenges. It may simply be that in this world we will have tribulation. All endeavors worth pursuing require great effort. 

3. To go about any endeavor willingly and cheerfully we must be moved by love for God and others vs. the approval of others or merely personal gain.

Verse 8 goes on to say,

"And God is able to make ³all grace abound to you so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work."

This verse is not necessarily talking about the outcome but the strength necessary to pursue the task God has put before us i.e. strength needed to complete the task comes from God, not us.  

It is also worth noting that the sufficiency of grace is also mentioned when Paul asked God to remove a thorn in his flesh i.e. grace is how God empowers us whether that involves enduring a thorn in the flesh or accomplishing the work He has given us to do. Grace is required for both.

Work or good deeds can take many forms. One of those is generating extra resources i.e. money (profits) to put towards another endeavor that honors God. But we must also never forget it is God who works in us both the will and desire to do so.

"...it is God who works in you both the will and do of his good pleasure..." Phil 2:12

10 "He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God."
2 Cor 9:6‭-‬8‭, ‬10‭-‬11 ESV

"... He who supplies seed ..."  He not only empowers us to sow and water but provides the seed to sow.

"...You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way..."

I once heard a Christian entrepreneur and millionaire say it this way. The world looks at money and says, "get all you can so you can keep all you can, then sit on the can, and protect your can. Don't let anyone get into your can." God however says, "get all you can so you can give all you can." Both focus on acquiring and achieving as much as possible but for totally different ends.  

God blesses us not so we can indulge in those blessings for our personal consumption only but primarily so we'll have more to bless others with. This gives us additional resources to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, thereby advancing God's Kingdom and purposes on earth i.e. "your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." The more we can obtain in this life the more resources and opportunity we have to love others in ways we would not have without them. Loving our neighbors is no less than living out the second-greatest commandment. It is what God calls us to do.

"...will produce thanksgiving to God..." 

Our diligent faithfulness to the ventures or tasks God has given and entrusted to us (i.e. our job, work, investments, or business and the gifts and abilities to perform them) will point others to God either by doing things cheerfully with excellence but also by acquiring extra resources to support the advancement of His kingdom through blessing others physically i.e. materially or financially. This ultimately leads to God's honor and praise.

This passage suggests our work is a primary means by which we advance the gospel of God's kingdom, thereby bringing glory to God and joy in God by others, resulting in our own joy.

Conclusions and application

Clearly, 2 Cor 9:6-11 indicates there is a direct correlation between sowing and reaping. The more we sow the more we reap...the less we sow the less we reap. It's not just common sense but ⁴a principle of life and nature. 

Sowing and repeating isn't just about negative consequences for sowing bad seed but also a great harvest for sowing good seed. The more the better.

To say it a different way, to see more results you must do more, pray more, give more effort, time, resources, etc. Though God in his grace and mercy may and sometimes does intervene directly to address needs despite our efforts, normally he works with, in, through, and by them. He engages us, His kids, to carry out His purposes on earth as He does in heaven. Paul himself continued utilizing his tent-making skills even when planting churches.

Related passages:

2 Corinthians 3:5

5  "What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? 

They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role. 6  I planted the seed (of truth) and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow." - 1 Cor 3:5-6

Even though God must grow or "give the increase" to our efforts - he does so according to our sowing and watering. Something (seed) must be planted and watered by ²us for it to be multiplied by God. (We will look at what "it" is further into the passage).

Sowing and reaping applies to not only the amount we sow but also the kind of seed (gifts) we are given to contribute to the harvest. Paul's planting was different than Apollos watering. Both were needed and used to bring about a harvest. Whatever gift and task God has given, each is unique to us. It is that gift we should use, not something we don't have. To say it another way, don't try to be someone or something you aren't created or called to be i.e. someone God has not gifted you to be.

A story goes that one day a farmer who had recently become a believer was out plowing in the field when he saw the letters "PC" in the clouds. He thought this must surely mean God was calling him to preach Christ (PC). After a year in seminary, he found himself struggling financially, with grades and generally struggling to keep up with the class load. He went to the dean of students to discuss this and after a few minutes the dean said, "I think God was telling you to plant corn (PC)." The moral of the story? If God has called you to be a significant financial means of supporting the church, He will also gift you in business or with investments to make a significant amount of money. 

And as we prove ourselves trustworthy by being faithful to what God has already given, He gives us more.

7 "So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow..." 1 Cor 3:7

...is anything... He's not saying we are nothing or have no role in the process but that we are not ultimately the reason for the results, God is. When done well, God will praise and reward us. The following context supports this.

"Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim that anything comes from us, but our competence comes from God." 2 Cor 3:5

God and I working together.

"Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, (you) work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." - Phil 2:12‭-‬13 ESV

How do we and God work to accomplish things at the same time? It is not a "both/and" relationship but an "in/through" one. It is God who gives us the desire, will, strength, and ability to work the work and it is our arms, legs, minds, etc (i.e. us) being empowered. He provides the strength but we are still the ones doing the sweating, not God.

Col 1:29
"For this I toil, ⁶struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me."

...struggling... God is the one empowering us but this does not exclude our sweat, persistence, and perseverance. He enables us to sweat and persist by and through His grace and love to us and out to others. To use an analogy we are the sale boat but He is the wind.

Even though 2 Cor 9 is talking about people giving financial/ material resources; in principle, it would hold true in giving any resources, be that time, energy, abilities, material possessions money, etc. Money is only the fruit of using our other gifts/resources to acquire it. 

Financial and material resources come through hard work. Sharing the good news is not by our words only. In fact, our good and excellent deeds give greater credibility to our words. An old saying is I don't care about what you know (and say) until I know that you care. A primary way we show care is by blessing others with our time, and attention and that is often with or through the material blessings God has given us.

"And God is able to make ³all grace abound to you so that (you) having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work." - 2 Cor 9:‬8

It is not a question of whether work - a job, investment, or business - can be a means of ministry but whether it is a good effort we are engaged in i e. It's not what we do that is most important by why we do it. What determines a good work versus a bad work is not just what we do but the goal of our efforts i.e. are we seeking to advance our purposes or God's. If God's, then whatever we do, do it with everything we've got for His glory.

i.e. ...⁶struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me." Col 1:29

The other implication is this takes sacrifice. We have to give up something we could use elsewhere - such as money or time - wherever God directs us to get a return (increase) on whatever God has called us to. We should know this going in and decide how much we're willing to give up in order to gain the outcome we hope for and believe God desires and has called us to.

The good news is if and when we are giving (working, sacrificing) for the right reason - i.e. using all the resources He's given us to advance His kingdom for His glory, not ours - He will not only bless those efforts (and multiply our resources to do even more to honor Him and bless others) but also empower us to do what we have been given to do and are committed to doing. This is His promise, no ifs, ands, or butts. 

When we do all things (especially our business or job) for God's honor out of love for others we can do it without reservation or doubt we are doing a good thing.

We also must be clear that we do not sow and water in and by our own strength. 

And when we experience good results, it is only because of His hand of blessing i.e. for this to happen, we must be and are empowered by God's Spirit/Love i.e. ultimately the results are because of Him; because of the strength and energy He gives us to complete the task and Him clearing the path or opening doors to bring it about.

God is engaged in every part of the process. He provides the seed. His Spirit is the power that gives us the will to work and drives us within, as well as multiplies our efforts without.

And we are engaged in every part of the process. It is ⁴our gifts, abilities, resources, efforts, hands, feet, bodies, and minds that are required in the sowing and watering and also our prayers that are necessary in asking God to give the increase. We are fully engaged in every phase.

Every endeavor (work) God gives us i.e. calls us to, we are engaged in is a partnership with God for His glory as well as our joy. This results in the thanks of others which also brings joy and honor to God and to us.

For a discussion on the fallacy of the health and wealth gospel, click here.

For a discussion on giving as we have received, click here.

For a discussion on the importance of discipline and diligence, click here

For a discussion on the importance of excellence, click here.

For a discussion on legitimate vs illegitimate business, click here 

For a discussion on resting in God, click here

For a discussion on whether competition is good or bad, click here

For a further discussion on being diligent, click here

For a discussion on what is more important, great effort or great faith, click here

For a discussion of what exactly is money/currency click here.

For a discussion on how faith is hard work, click here.

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¹Is sharing the good news limited exclusively to speaking about what Christ did for us? No. When we understand the gospel, it permeates, shapes, and drives every aspect of our lives and actions as well as our words. It entails not only what we do but why we do it. This includes our regular day-to-day job, business, or any venture and how we go about them.

²Exerting whatever effort is required - sowing and watering - takes time and effort; time away from other things that may be more immediately gratifying. 

Sacrifice and self-denial do not necessarily involve a huge loss but simply setting aside legitimate but inferior desires for more productive God-honoring goals e.g. Instead of checking your email or the latest news, it may be more fruitful to spend some time reaching out to someone (family, friend, business partner) that could use some of God's love and attention - through you.

³grace -  The fuel that energizes our abounding is God's love - which is ours only by grace, not because of our faithfulness (obedience) or productivity.  Faithfulness does not cause grace but is the means by which grace is released. Our experience of God's love is tied to our faithfulness. 

⁴This principle is so certain that even if we sow for the wrong reason - i.e. for our honor and gain not God's - if done diligently and without giving up we will eventually get results. It is how things are designed to operate regardless of our motives. However, when done for God's honor, we are promised God's support and His wind (breath/Spirit) at our backs. Otherwise it could - and likely will - eventually result in burnout. 

⁵By saying these are ours, we must recognize and acknowledge all we are and have is given, loaned to us, and sustained by God to advance his purposes. Nothing that is, would be if not for God, including all the gifts we are given and skills we acquire.

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good (not just bad), for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. - Gal 6:7‭-‬10 

⁶Col 1:29 

For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.

To or for-

Εἰς (Eis)
Preposition
Strong's 1519: A primary preposition; to or into, of place, time, or purpose; also in adverbial phrases.

this end-

ὃ (ho)
Personal / Relative Pronoun - Accusative Neuter Singular
Strong's 3739: Who, which, what, that.

I labor,-

κοπιῶ (kopiō)
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular
Strong's 2872: From a derivative of kopos; to feel fatigue; by implication, to work hard.

striving-

ἀγωνιζόμενος (agōnizomenos)
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 75: From agon; to struggle, literally, figuratively, or genitive case.

with all-

κατὰ (kata)
Preposition
Strong's 2596: A primary particle; down, in varied relations (genitive, dative or accusative) with which it is joined).

His-

αὐτοῦ (autou)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons

energy-

ἐνέργειαν (energeian)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 1753: Working, action, productive work, activity; in the NT, confined to superhuman activity. From energes; efficiency.

working-

ἐνεργουμένην (energoumenēn)
Verb - Present Participle Middle - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 1754: From energes; to be active, efficient.

powerfully-

δυνάμει (dynamei)
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular
Strong's 1411: From dunamai; force; specially, miraculous power.

within-

ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

me-

ἐμοὶ (emoi)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative 1st Person Singular
Strong's 1473: I, the first-person pronoun. A primary pronoun of the first person I.

A suggested prayer 

What to begin and close each day of work if you are building a business.

God bring to mind, lead, and bring me to the people you wish me to work (or build my business) with and minister to. 

Also enable me to work in a way that most honors you i.e. with faith, focus, diligence, energy, strength, and love to make whatever ²sacrifice is necessary to reach (serve) the maximum number of people for you, with the potential you've given me so that I might richly bless (love) others for your glory and praise and my happiness.

Show yourself strong on my behalf so that I may bring you greater honor i.e. more fully reveal and display your goodness - i.e. make you look good, not me.

God, only you can increase and multiply the fruit of my efforts... (efforts empowered by You, but mine just the same). I ask you to do so for the honor of your Son. So be it... Amen!