Children of Light

Day 2:

If our life activities center around the glorification of our LORD, what exactly does this mean? To begin, the word “glory” is a word that carries a prolific amount of meaning throughout Scripture. It is a word that is far beyond the scope of this devotional. In short, “glory,” as it relates to our God, is in line with words such as “significance,” “brightness,” or “weightiness.”  Within the context of Gods glory, verses abound that speak of honor, worth, worship, throne, reign, and O Most High. Revelation chapters 4 and 5 paint an extraordinary picture of the type of glory filled praise directed toward God in heaven on a permanent basis. He truly is worthy of exaltation.
Two technical words are used to describe Gods glory. The first is His intrinsic glory. Simply stated, it is His very nature and being. All His supreme greatness and attributes that make God, God. No one can add to His glory. No one gave Him this glory. And He remains the magnificent Triune God regardless of mankind’s existence. Absolutely nothing is dependent on His character. He has always been the eternal and immutable God.
The second term is ascribed glory. I Chronicles 16:29 states, “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name.” This then, is the honor and praise we give Him based on what we know of Him. As we immerse ourselves in His revelation of Himself to us from Scripture, we hopefully desire to glorify Him through our actions, thoughts, and words. Verbal worship like singing is an example of ascribed glory we give Him without adding to His intrinsic glory.
God is jealous for His glory. “I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another (Is. 42:8).” It really is about Him. To make sure we honestly grasp this truth, God has clearly stated that our own existence is for Him! And He does not stop there. Our salvation from our sin is for Him as well! We were created and were saved to glorify Him. Colossians 1:16 says, “…all things have been created through Him and for Him.” With regard to salvation, God says this in Isaiah 43:7, “Everyone who is called by My name, and whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.” In this same chapter our forgiving God says, “I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins (v.25).” I John 2:12 says, “…your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake.”
This is absolutely shocking. We so often reverse this and believe somehow our salvation is primarily for us. We do benefit greatly of course and God is pleased to save us, but the grace extended to us is secondary to God’s glory in saving us. Its primary purpose is to showcase His grace so forgiven individuals can worship Him forever.
This is intensely important because maintaining this proper perspective strips us of pride and replaces it with humility. Selfishness melts away when our supreme objective is to glory in His name because we actually understand our purpose and role in this world. What a revelation! We, who are Christians, have been gifted with the answer to, “Why do we exist?” To ascribe glory to the Most High God.
In conclusion, remember that magnifying God is not restricted to singing alone. Some fall into this trap, believing worship is only verbal on a Sunday morning at church. Glorifying Him is our very being as we will see in this next devotional. Secondly, glorifying God is an occupation we pursue now. It is not something we wait to do in heaven. Finally, our worship of Him must be in spirit and truth (Jn. 4:24). Everything we direct His way must be in accordance to what He has revealed about Himself to us in the Bible. It is the God of Scripture whom we serve, magnify, and live for.   

Every day I will bless you, and I will praise your name forever and ever (Ps. 145:2).”

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