Do you bring glory to God?

We often don't speak our thoughts aloud ...and often that is a good thing.  Yet, it may be beneficial to at least silently question ourselves.

Perhaps we should assess our beliefs, and question to what degree we really bring glory to God.  I often feel I do not, yet I also know my behavior is not what glorifies God.

I believe to glorify God, is to correctly and accurately describe who God is.  I would not want you to believe I am a representative of who God is ...in the sense that we look at members of Congress as representatives of the precise views of anyone.

But, God is not just anyone.  I believe the Bible, Jesus, and many of the writings of the apostles represent who He is.

So, instead of thinking we are representatives, let's instead say we are to 'present' to others the truth of who God is ...an impossible task without using what God, Himself, chose to use to describe or reveal to us ...His Word, and His own Son.

Too often we want God to represent us ...though that is often different than the way we present it. Jesus represents us ...as a Savior, standing in for us. He does not defend our sin, He lovingly defers the consequences.

If we want Jesus to defend our sin, He does not ...we are not glorifying God by saying that He does.  And we can't correctly describe God only as a loving God, who ignores all sin because of His loving nature.

Glorifying God is not excusing ourselves ...it is by accusing ourselves through confession, then accepting His love by accepting His forgiveness.

Many people who try to tell the truth are accused of being unloving, and unforgiving.  But, I say, those who understand forgiveness the most are not just those who sin the most ...but, those who confess the depth of their sin.  Or those whose debt is put aside? 

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.”

“Tell me, teacher,” he said.

“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.  Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”

Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”

“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.

(Then Jesus brought the attention back to Simon's impression of the repentant woman) "Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little."

Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”

It's not what we can do for God, it's realizing what God does for us.  And He did the greatest of things for us ...as He sent us His Son.  It is our part to acknowledge that and express our degree of appreciation for it.  How we act does have some effect, as our witness to others in glorifying Him will likely gather others' attentiveness if we seem to carry a degree of commitment and show a credible impact that it's had on our lives.

Matthew 22:35-39

New International Version (NIV)

One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:  “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’   This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

The second Commandment is like unto the first.  If we first love God with all our heart, soul, and mind ...then we should have a mind to tell our 'neighbor', in love, of this first great Commandment.

I Corinthians 6:10 ..."For ye are bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

2 John 1:6 ..."And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands."

So, how do we glorify God?

We do not glorify God by expanding our rights, but by admitting our wrongs.

We should not interpret who God is, by exchanging emotion for spiritual truth.  We need to change ourselves to align with who God says we should be.