BLOG 9/16/15. “I HAVE GIVEN THEM THE GLORY” . . . WHAT’S THAT?

The Biblical word glory is a fantastic word, and much used (maybe overused), but it certainly does need definition. I have heard too many people trip over it, or give it totally inept definitions. But when Jesus prays to his heavenly Father that he has given to his followers the same glory that the Father has given to him, then it ought to catch our attention and call for some definition. And if that passage were not enough, then there is Peter who reminds his readers that God has called his followers to: “his own glory and excellence” (II Peter 1:3). He will also comment in his first letter that when his followers are insulted, or are victims of fiery trials, then they are blessed “because the Spirit and glory of God rests upon you” (I Peter 4:12-13).

So let me give you the best definition I have found (and I am indebted to the Biblical scholar and pastor Gregory Boyd for this one): “Glory is the radiant display of the divine nature.” God glorifies himself in displaying his own divine nature in creation and redemption. He glorifies the Son in displaying in Jesus is own divine nature, and then his intent is to display his divine nature in his sons and daughters as he indwells them with his own Spirit of glory and of God. This is precisely what Peter tells us: “. . . he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, . . .” (italics mine). God has created us and all things for his glory. The venerable Westminster Catechism says that: “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” The glory of God in us is not something accomplished by our merely human effort, but is the working of that Spirit, that glory, that Jesus has given us. It comes with our new birth into the Kingdom of God.

And where does that take place? It takes place exactly when and where we are at all times. It is Christ in us who is the hope of glory. Our mission is to incarnate the glory of God, the divine nature, precisely where we are, … not somewhere else or at some other time. It is an incarnation that God intentionally intends to take place in the most unlikely and un-glamorous places. It is more authentic when we are engaging the existential realities of daily life than sitting in some “glorious worship service.” It is our brothers and sisters living out their divine nature in the chaos of Syria, what with all the violence and tragedy, as well as those in more pleasant and congenial places. This is the world that God so loved that he gave his Son, i.e., this very real world of lost and broken humankind.

Let me tell you a story. One of my dearest friends is the Christian community developer, John Perkins. John grew up as a sharecropper’s son in rural Mississippi before civil rights days, and endured all of the indignities and injustices of that culture. Later, after he had escaped to California, and when he had encountered Christ, God led him back to Mississippi to be an evangelist and a reconciler, to develop Christian communities among the neediest, and to be an advocate of civil rights. This resulted, on one hand of his being nearly beaten to death by the sheriff, but also accomplishing amazing developments in places of need. Long story short: the state actually ultimately named a day in his honor. Then John moved to Pasadena and did the same thing. People began to tune-in to the amazing ministry of this “third grade dropout” and he was granted honors and honorary degrees, and was guest in the White House. I was staying with him in Pasadena and noticed all of the pictures and honors hanging on the wall of his study. He and I were out to supper that night and I asked him how he maintained his humility with all of those accolades. (Note: there is no pretense in John, and his humility is incredible.) He chewed on his fish for a couple of minutes and then replied: “Bob, I don’t care if I’m chopping cotton in Mississippi, or a guest in the Oval Office of the White House, I am the glory of God.”

That’s a great model. We are called to be the glory of God, wherever and whenever. Glory!