So many powerful words are lost in the obscurity of the familiar. Worship, glory, fundamental, awesome, church… we could each add to the list with words we know we use poorly, but have them so engrained in our churchy vocabulary we just keep saying them without reflecting on their fundamental meaning. Oops, there I go already…
Glory. We want to glorify God, we sing of His glory, praise Him for His glory, but what is His glory? The word itself has a shockingly ordinary origin, being used to describe all manner of things, both good and bad. Here are some examples of the bad:
-Gen 12:10 – severe famine
The Old Testament usage applies the word to contexts of great significance, or heaviness, both figurative and literal. In summary, a glorious something is something of great substance.
In a volatile world such as ours where everything is in a state of flux from governments, to terrain, to that which quantifies beauty and humor, our souls scream for something constant. Something of lasting substance. Something of glory.
In this universe there is only one such thing. God. The glory of God will never change, never fade, never hide. We can see it in nature, experience it in the attributes that reveal His image within us, and if we do it right, share it in the Church (Ephesians 3:20-21).
So, how do we glorify God? By living in such a way that our lives reveal the one thing of true glory that exists. To love as Christ loved. To live as Christ lived. To die to self and selfish gain and point others to our source of life and happiness. This concept is nothing new. It is as old as, say, the glory of God itself.
-Ex 8:20 – great swarms of flies (glorious flies?)
-1 Sam 4:18 – Eli was old and heavy
-Psalm 38:4 – Sin is a heavy burden
The Old Testament usage applies the word to contexts of great significance, or heaviness, both figurative and literal. In summary, a glorious something is something of great substance.
In a volatile world such as ours where everything is in a state of flux from governments, to terrain, to that which quantifies beauty and humor, our souls scream for something constant. Something of lasting substance. Something of glory.
In this universe there is only one such thing. God. The glory of God will never change, never fade, never hide. We can see it in nature, experience it in the attributes that reveal His image within us, and if we do it right, share it in the Church (Ephesians 3:20-21).
So, how do we glorify God? By living in such a way that our lives reveal the one thing of true glory that exists. To love as Christ loved. To live as Christ lived. To die to self and selfish gain and point others to our source of life and happiness. This concept is nothing new. It is as old as, say, the glory of God itself.
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