Glory

Jessica has written an awesome blog about women and the word of God http://andnarrowistheway.blogspot.com/2008/04/bible-chauvenist-propoganda-pt-1.html.

One thing that really struck me while reading her blog was the word "glory" and her discussion of man being the glory of God and woman being the glory of man. I think up until now I've had the wrong idea of glory and how it relates to God.


One definition of the word "glory" according to dictionary.com is "something that is the source of honor, fame, admiration, a distinguished ornament or an object of pride."

As Jessica has pointed out in her blog man is the glory of God. But what does that mean exactly - man is the glory of God? If we look at the above definition, then we see that we are a source of honor, fame, admiration, etc. We are a SOURCE! Which in essence means that we, by definition, are what brings glory to God. It's like the way parents are proud of their children's achievments. The children are the glory of their parents. That's how we are the glory of God.



Doesn't it make sense then to live a life that brings Glory to God? To live our lives according to His Word. James 1:22 (NLT) says "But don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves."

If we look God's glory can be seen all around us. Psalm 57:11 says "Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth." When we experience a beautiful sunset, doesn't that bring glory to God? He is the one who created the sun.

I think the greatest example for me has been to see the changes in my body as I've begun a new fitness routine. I'm learning that I have muscles that I didn't even know existed. But the other awesome thing is just thinking about how the human body was created. God designed us, these perfect machines.

When I first started working out I was like "maybe I'm wasting my time. I mean, shouldn't I be using this time to pray?" As I thought about it more, I began to realize that I'm bringing glory to God by taking care of myself and the very thing that he designed - me. He designed me. He designed you. He's also given us to the tools to further our development to bring Him glory.

Think about endorphins - obviously God put them in our body for a reason. They make us feel good, they make us happy and put us in a better mood. I feel so good right after a work out. It would be very easy for me to get caught up in myself, but I don't when I remind myself that God created me this way.

When stress creeps in I can pray about it and I know some of the stress will be absolved because I find my peace, joy and comfort in Him and in His word. But I also know that it can be absolved through exercise. But I don't see exercise as my God. I see it only has a tool that God has given me. The important thing here is God has given it to me. I know the reason I feel good is because He created our bodies with endorphins, endorphins that are released through exercise.

I am able to bring glory to God because I feel good and I turn start treating others nicer because I'm no longer stressed.