Entry A - Topic of my choosing - The notion of
"glory"
Sometimes I
find myself saying and believing something that I know barely anything about. For instance, when I ask myself, "What do
you live for?” my automatic response is usually "I live for the glory of
God." Frankly, I got that answer
from some scriptures and many sermons, and I realize that I don't really
understand the concept of God's glory. I
know what glory is. Its synonyms would
be honor, fame, recognition, and praise. And the opposite of glory would be
shame. But what is the glory of God that
our ancestors of faith boldly lived their lives for, regardless of jarring
persecutions and unpleasant deaths? Isn't it what we feel when we lift up our
hands while singing worship songs? Why did they choose such radical and
dangerous ways to "glorify" God? As a Christian, I believe
understanding this notion of glorifying God is extremely pivotal, as it is the
ultimate purpose of human life. We are
made for God’s eternal glory.
First of
all, in order to glorify God, we must recognize who God is and who we are in
accord with the premises we hold about God.
God is the Creator and we are His creation. God is our Lord the King and we are His
servants. God is our heavenly Father and
we are His children. We were once His
enemies, but now by God's grace which was demonstrated through the life of Christ,
we are His friends. We deserved nothing from God but He gave us everything,
even His Son. We ought to love God
because He first loved us. God desires
to be worshiped, praised, and acknowledged as the LORD and Savior by His
people. This is the reason why we say
that we live to give glory to God; we give him all the credit and acclaim that
is due to Him.
However, I
realized that the concept of glory is much deeper and mysterious than mere
recognition and praise. In Greek, the
word for glory is "doxa" and it has some interesting connotations: an
especially divine quality, the unspoken manifestation of God, and splendor. In the Bible, the illustration of God's glory
usually appears as light. For example, when
Moses came down from Mountain Sinai after encountering God, the Israelites saw
the radiant glow of his face. Also,
during the transfiguration, Peter and two other disciples witnessed Jesus' face
shining like the sun and his clothes as white as light. Furthermore, in the book of Revelation, it
says when the New Jerusalem arrives; the glory of God will illuminate the city
and the Lamb will be its light. Personally, I love to comprehend the glory of
God as the manifestation of Himself.
Though we may not see Him directly, He marvelously reveals Himself to us
through the creation of nature, numerous circumstances, and His unchanging
truth.
In fact, 2
Corinthians 3:18 says, "So all of us who have had that veil removed can
see and reflect the glory of the Lord.
And the Lord-who is the Spirit-makes us more and more like him as we are
changed into his glorious image."
The Spirit of God unveils our eyes to see His glory. Not only do we see it, but we also reflect
it. Moreover, God transforms us into
the glorious image of Christ. We are not just suppliers of glory to God, but
also bearers of it. The Holy Spirit
dwells in us and enables us to shine His light through us. When His glorious presence fills us and
permeates through every aspect of our lives, we become like Christ who is the
Light. I think this is one of the
evidence for calling us " children of the Light" in 1 Thessalonians
5:5.
I still
feel insufficient in my understanding of this complex concept of glory even
after this discovery. However, I am
immensely grateful for this knowledge that enables me to acknowledge the
purpose of life and to strive for a further understanding and achieving of the
purpose. I just want to give glory to
Him who deserves all of me though it's nothing compared to what He offered to
me. Also, I desire to reflect His
heavenly radiance while being transformed to be more like Jesus. It is such a privilege to live and invest our
work for the eternal Kingdom instead of wasting our lives building an earthly
kingdom, which will perish eventually.
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