What does it mean to "glorify" God?

Is the purpose of “glorifying” God to make Him attractive to the world? What I see in scripture is that to glorify Him means to represent God accurately.

Paul makes his argument pretty strongly in 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 when he writes that the message of Christ is foolishness to the world. To those who accept the truth, the message is beautiful, refreshing. To those who reject it, it is loathsome and foolishness – it becomes a thing they try to destroy.

When the “glory of the Lord” appeared on Sinai, it looked to the Israelites not like a dazzling white gown, but a terrible, consuming fire (Exodus 24:17) In Numbers 14:21-22 it is the “glory of the Lord” that wreaked havoc on the Egyptians; not an attractive sight if you are Egyptian.

However, the “glory of the Lord” also causes his people to fall down on their knees and worship Him, declaring His goodness (2Chronicles 7:3) God’s glory is displayed in His wonderful works in nature (Psalm 104:31-32)

In scripture, God’s “glory” is reflected in His dreadful judgment of evil, His gracious love toward His people, and in his graceful beauty in the world. All of these things don’t necessarily make Him look “attractive” but they do show Him for who He is.

Paul said that “we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and to those who are perishing. To one we are the smell of death, to the other, the fragrance of life.” (2 Cor. 2:15-16) Christ came “full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14) and, being himself was rejected by men – it wasn’t the grace part they hated, but the truth.

Jesus is defined as “the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being.” (Hebrews 1:3) If we as a church, the body of Christ, are to “glorify” God, I believe our primary task will be to represent Him as accurately as possible.

Feel free to offer suggestions about what this means for us as a church. My next post will offer some suggestions.

A Celebration of Resurrection, Restoration, and Reunion

Below is an article I wrote for an Arkansas publication that may or may not be published this month:

On Easter Sunday Spring Valley, a small church outside of Searcy, celebrated their first year ­­­of worship after a seven year slumber. The church met their first year on Fairview road in a brush arbor pavilion-type structure while their saw-mill lumber building was constructed in 1935. Many families have been a part of the Spring Valley congregation over the years and preachers such as J. D. Bales and L. A. Thompson have graced her pulpit.

The second building was constructed out of cinder blocks in the 1960’s and has seen a few improvements since. The church thrived in the 1940’s though the 1970’s consistently filling the building on Sunday mornings. The late Paul E. Smith, his brother Harlon, the late Troy Barnett and the late J. L. Helms raised their families in the congregation which have since spread out into other congregations within Arkansas.

Unfortunately, in the 1990s the church experienced some internal conflict which lead to a falling out and eventually a split. When attendance dwindled to two couples, they decided to close the doors in the spring of 1998.

But God had other plans. At the beginning of 2005 some of the families decided to open the doors to that old building on Fairview road for a one-time Easter-weekend reunion of all the families who had grown up in this small country church. To their joy, many of the wounds of the past were healed or healing and some who had been disenchanted by the previous struggles returned with hopeful dreams of Christian renewal.

As a result of the positive outcome of that Sunday, the group decided to worship together the following week. Another family came looking for a new start and the decision was made to revive the congregation and resume meeting on a weekly basis.

During the summer and fall of 2005 the church united together in a great restoration of the old building. Indoor plumbing was installed for the first time, a nursery was built on, a kitchen built in, new carpet, roof, pew upholstery, a new pulpit and Lord’s table were all a part of this joining of hands to restore an old familiar church home. The restoration of the building has simply been an outward reflection of an inward revival and a renewed commitment to unity and the gospel of peace. Additionally, within the next few weeks they will install new elders.

This Easter, the church which in its first year has more than doubled in regular attendance celebrated together the resurrection of the Lord with a new tradition of Easter-weekend homecoming. Every year, Spring Valley church of Christ will be reminded of the resurrection of Christ living in his people, the restorative power of the gospel, and the blessing of the great reunion of the saints to which we can all look forward with ever-increasing anticipation and hope.