One Thing

In the movie, City Slickers, grizzled cowboy, Curly (played by Jack Palance), imparts wisdom to lost city guy, Mitch (played by Billy Crystal). Mitch, hoping to find a purpose to life, asks Curly his secret. "It all comes down to one thing," Curly says, holding up one finger. Mitch is intrigued. "What is it?" "That's what you gotta figure out." It was wisdom, but produced by natural man, it didn't go far enough. It is wise to narrow down priorities and focus, but the world's version is "whatever you think it is," "whatever It is to you," and you're on your own. Good luck with that.

This Christian walk that we're walking isn't so vague. Nor is it so relative. It is not "about me." Indeed, we shouldn't want it to be. If we are following Christ, we should want our "one thing" to be what Christ had as a guiding principle. What was Christ's "one thing"? In His High Priestly prayer He started with His highest concern. "Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son that the Son may glorify You." (John 17:1). When asked why the man was born blind, He answered, "It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." (John 11:4). When Lazarus was sick, Jesus told His disciples, "This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it." (John 11:4). Jesus always looked toward the Father and pursued His glory. He told His disciples, "Let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven." (Matt 5:16). In the same light, Paul wrote, "So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Cor 10:31) That's pretty expansive. That's all-encompassing.

What would life look like if we lived it with that singular aim? If we viewed our jobs, for instance, as work done to glorify God, how would that look? If we understood how we interact with believers and unbelievers in the light of glorifying God, how would we interact? If our purpose in our marriages, our families, our neighborhoods, our churches, our day-to-day existence was an effort to bring glory to God, how would our lives be lived? What would our successes look like? How differently would we handle a crisis? What would change in our entertainment, our internet and phone usage, our free time? How would we spend our time, our resources, our lives?

"The secret to life," Curly told Mitch, "is one thing." Imagine what your life would look like if you pursued with all diligence that which Jesus considered to be of the highest importance -- God's glory. Since God's purpose for us is to conform us to the image of His Son (Rom 8:28-29), perhaps we might want to think about reordering our lives to pursue that one thing.