GLORY EVERYDAY

“‘Glory.’ That’s one of those lofty, in-the-clouds words, isn’t it? Difficult to visualize. Hard to get in focus. The meaning is either so heavy we can’t keep a grip of it – or so high above our heads that we can’t even reach it.

We hear people talk about God’s grace, righteousness, redemption, and glory and we nod our heads. Sure, all of those things are important, but sometimes the meaning seems a little, well, distant from our daily lives. What does god’s glory have to do with finishing a report for school, changing the oil in the car, or getting the laundry folded?

At one time I felt ‘glory’ must mean some kind of cosmic brilliance or blinding light. Images of long-ago Bethlehem would play on the screen of my mind, with magnificent heavenly beings shouldering back the night and shouting, ‘Glory to God in the highest!’

In recent days, however, I’ve learned that ‘glory’ comes closer home than that. Much closer.

Glory, I’ve learned, is what God is all about. His essential being. Whenever you talk about His character or attributes – like holiness, love, compassion, justice, truth, or mercy – that’s God’s glory. And when He reveals Himself in any of those qualities, we say that He is ‘glorifying Himself.’

In times past, He revealed those qualities in both places and people. He still does…

So how is it that you and I can glorify God? It happens every time we reveal His attributes in the course of our daily lives. Every time you share the good news of Christ with another. Every time you reflect patience in the middle of an upsetting or perplexing problem. Every time you smile from the heart or offer an encouraging word. Whenever those around you see God’s character displayed in your attitudes and responses, you are displaying His glory…

The more we look to the Lord Jesus throughout the hours and days of our lives, Paul is saying, the more we begin to actually resemble Him!

Far from being some spacey concept out of a theology text, glory is as close as your next breath, as real as a smile on a dark day, as warm as the clasp of a caring hand.”