Over the past week in seminary, we have talked about glory and how Jesus speaks of glory. It has been an interesting experience for me, though I fear in writing this blog, my seminary peers will just look at me and say “duh.”
I believe the western Christianity understanding of glory is best summed up as “give God His due.” This is certainly how I have learned of glory: that it is something we give to God because He deserves it. And I’m not trying to be a heretic, certainly God does deserve glory, every ounce of glory. But that’s not what I’m getting at.
Tied up with our view of glory is the Westminster Confession which states “The chief end of man is to glorify God.” Once again I don’t think that there isn’t truth in this, however I do see a problem if we are to totally follow this trajectory. If glory is something God has created us solely to give Him, and through salvation we are able to give glory, it seems to me that God does not send Christ out of love, but out of self-interest.
Maybe I’m wrong, but that is the logical conclusion I come to over and over. If the chief reason we exist is to give God glory, then salvation is not an act of love from God, but a selfish act, because we are saved to fulfill God’s needs. And even further it almost implies that somehow God needs our glory. And I think that is at the basis of this. Along this discussion, one of my professors is quoted as saying “God’s glory is not an issue to Him.” I tend to agree with this.
So what is glory about then? The chief passage in the scripture that has influenced me on this is John 14.
23Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
27″Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28Father, glorify your name!”
For Jesus, His glorification was tied up in self denial. That is how He tells us that if we are to follow Him we must hate our lives here. I do want to note this isn’t some sort of nihilistic hate of lives as though it is pointless, but rather that we do not value our lives here moreso than the reward we have in Christ!
What does this mean for glory then? I think that when we tie this in with the idea that we experience a mystical union with Christ, that it means we participate in God’s glory. In fact, when Jesus tells Peter the type of death he will die, Jesus indicates that Peter will glorify Christ through his death. So when we experience trials, hardships and persecutions, we rejoice because in doing so we participate in God’s glory!
I was talking with my pastor about this yesterday, and he said that in his experience it was such. He told me how when he has been threatened to be beat up, or had knives pulled on him or been threatened because he is sharing the gospel, that there is a feeling of identifying with Christ that comes from those experiences.
May it be that we would continue to grow closer to Christ in reaching the maturity where we realize our persecutions as good rather than bad! That is my hope for both myself and you.
What do you think about this?
Does this fit with your understanding of glory?
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Thank you for your post. I’m studying this topic right now and was interested to learn what others have come to understand. I would like to add a verse that perhaps might give additional insight. It’s Moses 1:39 “For behold, this is my work and my glory; to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” God’s glory, His purpose in creating this earth and sending us to it is not an ego trip, it’s to help us, His children be all that we can be. I didn’t fully appreciate this verse until I had children of my own and had just a taste of what He must feel for us. Luke 11:11 “If a son shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?”
And if God’s purpose is to help us reach our potential, then we give glory to God by helping His children. Hope that makes sense. Best of luck.