Article for "Cornered" Newsletter (April 2007)

As I sit here contemplating what I should write about this month, the “glory of God” comes to mind. Those who know me well enough, know how much I am influenced by John Piper; writer, speaker and pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minnesota, USA. Piper inspires me, by his godly life and his many writings and talks on the supremacy of God and the glory of God.

According to Piper:

“In the church, our view of God is so small instead of huge, so marginal instead of crucial, so vague instead of clear, so impotent instead of all determining, and so uninspiring instead of ravishing that the responsibility to live to the glory of God is a thought without content. The words can come out of our mouths, but ask the average Christian to tell what they know about the glory of this God that they are going to live for, and the answer will not be long.” [1]

Like Piper, I long for the glory of God to permeate in all of our lives. That His magnificent name be given due honor, praise and worship. My heart craves that we are giving God what we were created for.

“After all, man was created from the beginning in God's image that he might image forth God's glory!” [2]

Our lives would be totally transformed, if only we understood a small measure of the glory of God and caught a glimpse of God’s awesome majesty. His beauty, excellence, magnificence, purity, wisdom, goodness, mercy, grace, perfection, omniscience, omnipresence, omnipotence, sovereignty; and the list goes on.

The glory of God is displayed in creation. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands” (Psalm 19:1) There are numerous passages in the bible that attest to the glory of God’s creation, and how the amazing, matchless handiwork of God, demands our total worship.

The glory of God is likewise displayed in His actions. “Who among the gods is like you, O Lord? Who is like you- majestic in holiness, awesome in glory, working wonders?” (Exodus 15:11)

God’s presence, His being, His character; embodies the full spectrum of holiness and glory. Whenever God revealed manifestations of His glory, lives would be shaken, stunned, overwhelmed and radically changed.

When Moses asked to see God’s glory, he was only allowed to see a “part” of God, His back. “You cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live”. God allowed His goodness to pass in front of Moses, but Moses was placed “in a cleft in the rock” with God’s hand covering him, while God passed by ( ref Exodus 33: 18-23) Even though Moses only had a glimpse of God’s “partial” glory, it left his face shining literally for days!

Ezekiel was thirty years old and exiled from his homeland, when God revealed His glory to him in a spectacular vision. Like John, Ezekiel could only describe what he saw in powerful symbolic terms. The description of the vision of “wings” and “wheels” seemed so “foreign” and “bizarre”. It was certainly nothing like anything he had ever seen nor experienced before. Ezekiel declared, “This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord”. This powerful encounter with God left Ezekiel overwhelmed for seven days (ref Ezekiel 1-3:15).

Jesus is the ultimate display of God’s glory. “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14)

Ironically, God was supremely glorified when Jesus accomplished the mission God had purposed for Him, by dying on the cross.
“Father, the time has come, glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted Him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those you have given Him…I have brought you glory, by completing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:1-2; 4)

The question and challenge that comes to my mind as I write this is; “How important is it for me to delight in God, so much so that He is what satisfies me completely, and is therefore glorified in my life?”

Paradoxically, it seems that the way to glory also includes rejection, shame and suffering. Romans 8:18 tells us that “our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us”. When we share in the sufferings of Christ, we will likewise share in His glory.
“In love, He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves” (Ephesians 1:4-6)
Isn’t it an awesome privilege, to be sons and daughters of a glorious God and to accomplish the mission God has purposed for us, even before the creation of the world?

I pray that we would live passionate lives for God’s glory and kingdom! May His glory capture our hearts and minds and cause us to fall down on our knees in awe and worship of Him our whole lives.

“The sun will no more be your light by day, nor will the brightness of the moon shine on you, for the LORD will be your everlasting light, and your God will be your glory” (Isaiah 60:19)
[1] John Piper, “A Passion for the Supremacy of God,” Spirit of Revival, March 2002, p 5
[2] John Piper, “God Created Us For His Glory” July 27th 1980