Doxa:
"Glory":
(doxa from dokeo = to think) in simple terms
means to give a proper opinion or estimate of something and thus the glory of God expresses all that He is
in His Being and in His nature, character, power and acts. He is glorified when He is allowed to
be seen as He really is. To be where God is will be glory. To be what God
intended will be glory. To do what God purposed will be glory.
Charles Ryrie says that the glory of God...
is the manifestation of any or all of His attributes.
In other words, it is the displaying of God to the world. Thus, things which
glorify God are things which show the characteristics of His being to the
world."
Last
Sunday our conversation at church evolved into a discussion on God's glory. We
discussed how so often we make our faith about us: God's plans for us, God's promises to us, our purpose in the kingdom. Our
friend who initiated the conversational drift read this scripture to us:
Jeremiah 9:23 and 24:
"23 Thus says the
Lord: Let not the wise andskillful person glory and boast in his
wisdom and skill; let not the mighty and powerful person
glory and boast in his strength andpower; let not the
person who is rich [in physical gratification and earthly wealth] glory and boast in his [temporal
satisfactions and earthly] riches;24 But let him who
glories glory in this: that he understands and knows Me [personally and
practically, directly discerning and recognizing My character], that I am the
Lord, Who practices loving-kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth,
for in these things I delight, says the Lord." (Amp version)
It
was a mind-set change in a way, but I realised this weekend how it cuts both
ways. As I had begun to understand it last weekend it had been about not taking
God's glory for ourselves, but rather about being willing to be channels for or
reflections of God's glory; about trusting Him to do things the way they are
designed to be done; about not rushing the process because of our own needs for
significance, recognition or desire for fulfilment of purpose.
The
other side of the story is this: when we see ourselves as too important in the
equation, as makers of glory, rather than reflectors or channels, our failures
and mistakes become almost paralysing. We become people of fear and shame,
risk-avoidant and secretive of error. God on the other hand seems to be quite
comfortable with our failings. Psalm 103 is just such a beautiful expression of
his attitude towards us. Verse 14 in particular speaks to me so often when I am
in a place of deep shame about my inner attitudes or outer actions -
"...He remembers that we are dust". Wonderful.
This
week I have been struggling a little with my attitude towards the kids when
they are not quite getting things right. My inner wicked witch has emerged more
than once, leaving me very diasppointed in myself. How will my kids ever find
the relationship with God that has so enriched my life when I (who they know
relates to Him) am such a poor image of who I tell them He is? God, it appears
has not as many worries about that as me. He chooses to use fallen, faulty,
dusty humanity to reflect Himself to the earth. I can't begin to understand His
thinking, to be honest, but I begin to realise how great God must be, if even
the small flashes of glory we manage to reflect in our broken state are enough
to make a difference, to bring about the alleviation of the groaning and pain and travail of the
earth. (see Romans 8)
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