So, how do you become champions of Super Bowl #55? To get to the pinnacle of accomplishment in professional football takes more than a conventional approach. Once proven to be the best in one’s field, the opportunity opens to write the book on the process that delivers the results.

If winning the title game for the ’20 NFL season is worthy of serious devotion and dedication, the pursuit of top status in a lifetime – what we often refer to as significance – is even more crucial to understand. Success lasts until someone surpasses your achievement; significance is an eternal marker and cannot be surpassed by anyone. It isn’t competitive; it measures results against one’s potential, not against others on the quest of lasting impact.

We opened this conversation four Mondays back. The ultimate objective of life was described by Paul in 1 Corinthians 10:31: “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”  Any and all activities of life are to be conducted with the understanding that bringing glory to God is the essential qualifier.

To glorify God is to allow Him to be seen as great through His creation – we, who have been restored to life through faith in Jesus Christ – by lost people whose only chance to encounter Him is by seeing His power unleashed in His redeemed followers who have become family.

How do you and I crack the code for a Super Bowl-level victory in glorifying God? We’ve worked through three steps so far:

1. Achieve godliness in your earthly life, qualifying you to compete in the Glory league.
2. Discover and pursue your unique Kingdom Calling, which is your highest assignment.
3. Participate in producing fruit measured in people, who are Heaven’s currency.

Tough criterion, but entirely possible as we follow the lead of Jesus, the apostles, and history’s contingent of men and women who have lived in service to the Kingdom that is to come. What’s the last key secret to the life of eternal significance?

Hear me out; filter the static you may have heard from others on this point and listen – instead – to the voice of the One Who is the focus of our efforts: “Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:16).

There is a follower of Jesus whom the Enemy allows to be attributed the great works done in service to the King. Who is it? Anonymous. Let me say their name again: Anonymous.

Lucifer’s losses begin when a spiritually-dead human hears and responds to the Gospel. Every win for the Savior is a defeat for the Devil. The next set-back for Beelzebub happens when the Child of God begins to live for the glory of God. Godliness; calling; fruit: these are all salt-in-the-wound of the Serpent, destined to disrupt his attempts to defame God among men. His last-gap desperate tactic to distract the glory from God: convince the person living for the Light to cover up their works of glory so that no one knows who did it.

Jesus’ instruction was vivid: “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house” (Matthew 5:14-15).

Moments after that imperative, Jesus added this caution: “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven” (6:1). If your good conduct was principally to get applause for yourself from people, the benefit stalls on earth and never reaches Heaven. But if your real desire is to send applause to the God Who is worthy, hiding your Light display will disallow God’s glory.

The final point: 4) Allow people to see through your good works, to see the Good God Who is behind it all.  Give God the shout-out!

There it is; the ultimate objective of life: Glorify God. You now have the formula. Are you following through to make it happen?

Bob Shank