This past week has me thinking about the word glory. On Sunday, Pastor Bob preached on the fifth and final truth that shaped the Reformation; Glory to God Alone. Like the previous four truths that were discussed, the word “alone” is critical to our understanding of the pillars that shape our faith. The question that has been on my mind is, are we actually okay with God alone getting the glory?
The culture that we live in is all about glorifying ourselves. Our society is about serving ourselves. Our lives are often spent shining the light upon us, rather than our creator.
In Isaiah 6, the prophet saw the Lord, and above him were seraphim. The seraphim were calling to one another saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory.” When we look at this text it reveals a couple important things about who God is. First, he is holy. He is set apart. He is set apart from everything else in this world. Secondly, he is almighty. He alone is omnipotent. God is a holy, omnipotent, and infinite God deserving of all glory, honor, and praise.
But who are we? We as humans are common, limited, finite beings created by God. When Isaiah encounters God, he is humbled in an instant. He cries out, “Woe to me!… I am ruined!” He knows the holiness, greatness, and power of God. But he also knows that he is not worthy to come before and see the creator of the universe.
When we understand who God truly is compared to who we really are, we, like Isaiah are humbled. It’s when we have a proper understanding of our relationship with God that we are reminded that we don’t deserve any glory at all.
We do not exist to be glorified, we exist to be glorifiers. We do not exist to be worshipped, we exist to be worshippers. We do not exist to be served by God, we exist to serve God. We do not exist to receive glory, we exist to give glory.
As we approach this Christmas season, let us be humble, and let us be okay with God alone getting all the glory. Let’s push ourselves to magnify him instead of ourselves. Today I challenge you to ponder in what ways do you try and steal glory from God?
“To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” -Rev. 5:13
-Greg Salmon
