I love the word “glory”. I appreciate the sound it
makes as it rolls across my tongue and it brings to mind images of dancing light
beams and Jesus transfigured, face shining like the sun. I think of what
happened when Moses went up the mountain and spent time in God’s presence. His
face glowed with the reflected glory of the Lord.
Despite the lovely images, I have trouble wrapping
my mind around the concept of glory. Bible dictionaries define it as abundance, treasure, honour, splendour,
brightness and majesty. It is something intrinsic to God’s character and
being – a quality so wondrous and powerful that it altered Moses’ appearance.
The Bible makes it clear that human beings are to
give glory to God. “Ascribe to the Lord
the glory due His name.” (Ps. 29:2) Does this mean we tell Him how wonderful He
is, over and over again? The Westminster Catechism implies that there is more
to it than that: “Man’s chief end is to
glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”
When I think about glorifying God, I imagine
retreating into the shadows so God can be the one that shines. How can that be
enjoyable? I don’t know about you, but there’s something in me – pride, perhaps
– that would rather keep a little glory for myself. But God says: “I am the Lord, that is my name! I will not
give my glory to anyone else …” (Isaiah 42:8)
It’s clear that pride must be put aside in any
quest to recognize God’s greatness and worship him appropriately, but getting
rid of it isn’t easy. In fact, it feels a bit like dying. I’ve been discovering,
though, that when I let go of my rights and desires, give up my futile attempts
to gain the world’s esteem and cease trying to claw my way up the ladder to
heaven, something surprising occurs.
This God of ours, who created galaxies and pulsates
with energy and light, cares deeply for me. And you. Glorious indeed.
“To
please God … to be a real ingredient in the divine happiness … to be loved by
God, not merely pitied, but delighted in as an artist delights in his work or a
father in a son – it seems impossible, a weight or burden of glory which our
thoughts can hardly sustain. But so it is.” ~ C.S. Lewis
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Photo credits
Sun rays through trees - http://www.flickr.com/photos/piper/2890945512/
Lonely bird - http://www.flickr.com/photos/jstar/134561582/
Joyful girl - http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinksherbet/1950145389/
