“The call is this: Make your life one unflinching gaze upon the glory of Christ.”

Matt Papa and I go way back. Not sure he would agree with that statement, but here’s a glimpse of back story. When Matt and his band really started traveling to play, the church I grew up in hosted them a good bit. In high school I met his girlfriend (now wife) when she came to visit with him. She and I have remained friends, and I’m thankful for her presence in my life.

Matt then committed to, wrote, and published his first book, Look and Live. I figured it would be a great read, I just didn’t know how great. I’ve always known his heart to be genuine, to be real, to be honest. And all of those, and more, are evident in his writing.

“We cannot not worship.”

“Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship.”

This idea is striking to me. The idea that as humans we are always worshipping something; that it’s my choice what my target is. Causes me to look inward for a self-check.

I’ll confess there have been things that have come and gone, some who still rear their heads,that I worship that are not among the genetic makeup of God.

But, Matt makes a challenging statement: “Everything crumbles under the weight of worship except God… Whenever we place “glory” on any created thing, the thing is devoured and the soul is disappointed. The insatiable must have the Inexhaustable. We were made for only one glory.” 

One Glory. Anything else will break my heart.

I desire my life to be built on THAT substance. The ‘I AM.’

The One whose greatest glory is that He is good. Always good. 

He references idols in a way that has stuck with me: the throne of my heart. Something will always be sitting on it.

“We worship our way into sin, so again, we must worship our way out.”

That idol moving occasionally from the throne of my heart is not what will grace me with abundant life at the feast of God’s table. Putting something (Someone) else there — putting God there — will.

Seeing the glory of God in the face of Jesus. Beholding Him. Giving glory where it is only due. Experiencing Him.

I’m only halfway through the book, but the Holy Spirit is already rewiring my thinking, my believing, my choosing. And I’m so thankful for that Mercy.