To God Be The Glory“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31).
Do you remember the momentous day recorded in the gospel of John that we considered some months ago? The day the Lord Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on donkey. The crowds were massive, and the people were waving palm branches and crying out, “Hosanna, hosanna!” It’s really an incredible scene. Now, wouldn’t it be something, if that donkey thought all that applause was for him? We know better than that, don’t we?
So it is for us when the Lord Jesus stoops to use our gifts for His Father’s glory and we think it’s all about us. In reality, it’s all about Him.
Glory Snatchers
Pride has this effect upon us all; it turns us into glory snatchers. Rather than directing all the glory to God, we want part of it for ourselves. Are you a glory snatcher? How might one know? Glory snatchers tend to obsess about themselves. They worry incessantly about what other people are thinking about them. They crave and seek the attention and praise of others. These glory snatchers hate doing good deeds if only to find out later that nobody noticed them. As a result, they are much more faithful when people are around than they are when the only witnesses are God and their own consciences. Glory snatchers also tend to be uber-sensitive to criticism and feel the need to jump to their own defense the moment that anyone sends a critical word their way. Additionally, they tend to view the successes of others from a self-centered perspective. So rather than thinking, “Praise the Lord for the glory the Lord received through that individual,” they think instead, “It’s not fair! Why do they get the opportunity to do all those great things for God, and not I?” The answer to the glory snatcher is not less glory; it is more. We need to see the glory of Jesus Christ and be enthralled with Him. In reality, this is the best and the only way to lose sight of ourselves. For our best efforts pale in comparison next to Christ, the Son of righteousness, who rises with healing upon His wings.
- Are you seeing that glory?
- Have you ever seen it?
- Have you lost sight of it?
This always happens when we spend too much time looking away from heaven to the things of earth. We become sleepy, myopic, and confused. At such times, God’s Word comes with ever- increasing relevancy and power.
“Therefore it says, ‘Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you’ “ (Ephesians 5:14).
So call upon God to pour upon you a Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the true knowledge of Christ. Has He not promised, “No good thing will I withhold from him who walks uprightly”? I can’t think of another prayer that God delights in answering more! May it be so in your experience as you walk in the glory of Christ. To God be the glory!
