Wednesday, January 23, 2019

"Why Glory?"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe…



"Why Glory?"




   Why does Scripture call us to glorify God with us such full-hearted devotion that "whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God?" (I Corinthians 10:31).

   Is God an egotist who needs constant affirmation and adulation from others?  Does He require our praise to fulfill some emotional need in Himself?  Certainly this is not the case.  Our triune Lord exists as perfectly sufficient in Himself, within the eternal scope and infinite measure of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Acts 17:25).  Moreover, our glorifying Him does not add to His glory, but rather simply reveals the truth and fact thereof.  Why, therefore, does He call us to glorify Him in "whatsoever ye do?"

    The answer lies first in the fact of God's goodness and greatness.  Reality demands that we honor Him because He is who He is.  Believers are the creations and redeemed sons and daughters of our Lord.  We are the lamps of His light.   We will therefore inevitably display the reality of who God is in His glory as we walk with Him.  "I am the light of the world… Ye are the light of the world" (John 8:12; Matthew 5:14). 

    He also calls us to glorify Him because He knows who He is - the Creator, Sustainer, Illuminator, Provider, and Protector of all creation.  He also perfectly knows who we are  - the dependent parties to whom He "giveth life and breath and all things."  Glorifying Him means that we also realize the Truth about Him and ourselves, thus motivating the life of faith whereby God leads and enables us in all things.  "Thou openest Thine hand and satisfieth the desire of every living thing" (Psalm 145:16)

    Finally, we impact others as we honor the Lord, leading unbelievers to faith and fellow believers to greater faithfulness as we bear witness by word, attitude, and deed to God's goodness and greatness, and the very Life of our lives.  "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven" (Matthew 5:16).

   God is worthy of more glory than all creation can ever direct toward Him.  He is not, however, a narcissist who requires praise, thanksgiving, or our acknowledgment in any manner whatsoever.  We please Him by glorifying Him, but we meet no need in Him.  Our Lord created human beings with the capacity and calling to glorify Him because it meets needs in us and in all creation.  He desires that we honor Him because of His love for us, and because He knows that we are helpless and hopeless without Him.  God does not need us to glorify Him.  Conversely, we do need to think, speak, act, and relate in a manner that directs all honor to Him.  We do well to understand this truth about Him and ourselves whereby the glory of God becomes far more precious to us, and far more practiced by us.

"Let Thy work appear unto Thy servants, and Thy glory unto their children."
(Psalm 90:16)

Weekly Memory Verse
  But unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, o God, is forever and ever, a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of Thy kingdom."
(Hebrews 1:8)


  




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