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Sunday, September 5 |
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| And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:19) | |||
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Glorifying God
God is glorified when He is seen. When we put God on display in our lives with our actions and words, He is glorified. When He works and performs the miracle of redemption, emotional or physical healing or any other act only possible by God, God is glorified. When we look at some event, a work in a person's life or anything that happens and we can truly say, "It's a God thing", then God has truly been glorified.
It is important to note there is nothing we can do to glorify God. We cannot label "church" or "Christian" activities we do as glorifying God. Only a work of God glorifies God. If it is God working in and through us then He is glorified.
Glorifying God is not necessarily a visible demonstration of God's power. Humbly washing someone else's feet can bring glory to God. Small acts of kindness and service can bring glory to God our Savior and Maker.
Why glorify God? Is God some ego-maniac that He craves all the attention and adoration? Why all the praise and worship? The easiest way for me to answer this question for myself is to consider our giving of praise and worship to glorify God as a simple recognition of the truth. God is immensely incredible and we can do nothing to exaggerate or overstate how wonderful He is. We can never ascribe to Him too much glory or credit. All good things are from Him. Praise and worship of God, giving Him all glory, honor, worship and praise is simply recognition of the truth of who He is. If it seems to you that we worship God too much, then I would say you don't know and understand who God is. We all can grow in our knowledge and understanding of Him and, as we do, we will be able to worship and praise Him more deeply and bring more glory and honor to His name.
I think glorifying God is like giving Him His proper due. All my life I have been careful to give others credit for ideas or work they have done. In my work, I always try recognize peoples good work and make sure their efforts are recognized by others, particularly their supervisors. It just seems like the right thing that each persons effort is properly recognized and rewarded. It is the truth. In the same way, glorifying God is giving Him His due for who He is.
Another perspective on glorifying God with our lives is to consider that we glorify Him as we become more like Him. He is perfect in His Holiness and who He is. There could never in any way ever be anyone better than God. I could say He is millions times better than us, but that statement is actually limiting to God. God is far more than simply a multiplication of the best we know. God is more than we can consider or imagine. God is God. We will never attain to God's perfection, but God does work in and through us to give us a "family resemblance". It is a simple truth that we all know, but I remind you that God works in us by the power of the Holy Spirit to make use more and more like Him. The more we become like Him, the more He is glorified. The more He is seen in us, the more He is glorified.
We glorify God when we let God be God. We do not glorify God when we live a life in our own efforts and according to our own plans. How do you live your life? Do you live a life of faith and trust in God or are you living by your physical sight and senses? Do you walk with God or do you live your own way. Only a life which knows God and places its faith in Him can bring glory to Him.
It is worth repeating. We glorify God when we let God be God. We let God be God when it is our heart's deepest desire that He be known and exalted in the lives of all those around us. We cultivate this desire by a life marked by prayer and seeking after the Lord. A life seeking God's will and way in people's hearts will request the Lord's hand on behalf of others in prayer. One who knows God also knows that our own efforts, by themselves, are nothing. We must let God take the lead and we must faithfully follow. Prayer must not be an afterthought or just one of ingredients in the programs and activities of our lives. Prayer must become more and more our very breath as we desire God to work in His wisdom, in His power and His ways in and around our lives.
God is glorified when He is revealed and made known. The clearer the He is revealed, the more He is glorified. Any work of our own flesh and effort glorifies ourselves and does not glorify God. Allow God to be God in your life and He alone will be glorified.
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