Our Response to God's Glory

How do we respond to the glory of God?

It's a question that can only be answered by an eternity of enjoying God.

For now, we can take a few small steps.

To start, let's consider some wise words from C.S. Lewis:

The promise of glory is the promise, almost incredible and only possible by the work of Christ, that some of us, that any of us who really chooses, shall actually survive that examination, shall find approval, shall please God. To please God...to be a real ingredient in the divine happiness...to be loved by God, not merely pitied, but delighted in as an artist delights in his work or a father in a son—it seems impossible, a weight or burden of glory which our thoughts can hardly sustain. But so it is… > > The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some chasm that yawns between us and reality, is part of our inconsolable secret. And surely, from this point of view, the promise of glory, in the sense described, becomes highly relevant to our deep desire. For glory meant good report with God, acceptance by God, response, acknowledgment, and welcome into the heart of things. The door on which we have been knocking all our lives will open at last.

When I tell my son or daughter that I am proud of them, a smile lights up their faces. When they receive honor from me, they experience pleasure.

How much more pleasure can we find in knowing that we please God? That he has bestowed his glorious glory upon us? That he is happy and delighted with us as his children?

God's glory is superlative in every way - and yet this transcendent glory is shared with us as he makes his home within us and unites us to Christ. There is a great pleasure in knowing the most glorious God!

I invite you to humble yourself and to be pleased - to be happy - that God has bestowed his glory upon you.

Second, knowing a glorious God gives us a substantive purpose for living.

As we've meditated on throughout this course, Jesus says in John 17:3, "This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and the one you have sent—Jesus Christ."

Our lives are not meaningless blips, but we are given the gift of eternal life now - and we will live forever with God.

It's a thought that stops me in my tracks. It's hard to write anything else. A glorious God is transforming us "from one degree of glory to another."

Psalm 29 instructs us, "Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness."

What does this look like to ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name… not just with your words, but with your life?

I feel like the First Love course is a runway. A runway with potholes! But still a runway. After going through these lessons together, it is time for you to take off and fly. Not by our own strength, but because God has already raised us up and seated us in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Because of who God is and what God has done, what else can we do? In John 6, many disciples cannot bear what Jesus is saying and they cannot recognize who he is. So they turn away from him. We read:

So Jesus said to the twelve, "Do you want to go away as well?" > > Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God."

Peter's commitment to this promise was tested. But ultimately, by God's grace he lived a life of dedication and faithfulness that glorified God. And that's the path that I hope we will walk in as well.

As we end the course, I invite you to spend time in God's presence.

What will it look like to keep your First Love first?

Who will you walk with to encourage one another in this way?

This isn't to place burdens on you, but to unburden you from going down every other path - paths that are empty, cruel, and hard.

As Jesus promised us, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."