“Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and enjoy him forever” - Westminster Catechism #1

I’ve been thinking this week about what it means to glorify God. In Scripture, the word glory seems to refer to the essence of God, his nature. For example, Moses could only catch a small glimpse of God’s glory because if the Lord revealed his glory to Moses completely it would be too much.

God’s glory was represented by fire and smoke as he guided the Israelites out of Egypt. His glory filled the tabernacle. In fact, Moses’ face shone so brightly after entering the tabernacle he had to wear a veil because the people couldn’t handle it. God’s glory was too much.

I’ve been thinking about Jesus’ words as well. Jesus said that he had brought glory to God by doing everything God asked him to do. Rather than a cloud or fire or wind, God chose to reveal his essence through ther person of Christ.

God seems to continue to reveal his essence through Christ-followers. Paul emphasizes this point in 1 Corinthians 10:31 when he writes:

“Whatever you do, you must do all for the glory of God.”

Or when he writes in 2 Corinthians 3:18:

“And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.”

When people ask me to describe my wife, I share the great things about her. My desire is to elevate others’ perceptions of her. I demonstrate my love for her in this way. This, in essence, is what Christ-followers should be doing. Our lives should help elevate others’ perception of God. I bring God glory when I seek to do his will and help others gain a better picture of God.

So, I’m asking myself the following questions this week:
1. In what ways does my life help others better understand God?
2. What do I need to change in my life to help others better understand God?
3. What needs to happen in the community of faith for those who don’t know Christ to gain am understanding of who God is?