Confessions of a Seminarian

What’s Glory Got To Do With It?

Long before I believed in any kind of a God, I would ask Christians why God supposedly created us, and why we should believe in him.  I (predictably) got what I thought was a cop-out answer:  “to glorify himself,” or “for his glory,” etc.  I always wondered why such a “loving” God would create humanity, and then watch us spiral into chaos, all to glorify himself.  It sounds really selfish, doesn’t it?  Since I have become a Christian, I have avoided that answer as much as possible.

Now, I do believe that God loves us and seeks to glorify himself, but I do not see the two quite so juxtaposed as I once did.  I haven’t really been able to figure out why, but I think that the last week or so in my life has illuminated my understanding.

The last couple weeks have been unbelievably hard for my wife and I.  We are both dealing with some major family problems on both sides, and we’ve barely had a chance to breathe.  We have been emotionally and spiritually depleted, and have struggled greatly to even do the day-to-day things of life with any sense of normalcy.  I don’t have to tell any of you that family dynamics are one of life’s most difficult challenges.  Right now, we have it in spades.

As we have struggled through this season of life, we have realized how incapable we are of simply surviving this stuff on our own, much less have calm, rational discussions with those involved or bring healing to relationships.  While my first reaction is to take charge and deal with conflict head on, those actions have further strained relationships.  I’m left with no choice but to collapse on my knees in prayer.  In response, God has brought us comfort, strength, peace, and patience in both waiting and action.  And while I should certainly not be surprised, many of our relationships are on the road to healing where all my efforts previously have resulted in further damage.

The turning point for this was praying for God’s glory.  At my absolute weakest, when I could barely hold my head up from the floor where tears began to form small puddles, I did not even know what to pray.  So I prayed that God would be unavoidably present in our conversations and that he would glorify himself.

To my utter amazement, things began to turn around.  Fast.

I wish I could give you the details because there is no way that these situations could have improved apart from his direct intervention.  To put it simply, it has been glorious.

As I’ve thought about this, I have been reminded of the questions I asked before I was a Christian, the same ones I mentioned at the beginning of this post.  I’ve realized, through this extremely personal experience, that God’s glory is equivalent to God’s love.  God is glorified when he loves us, and when he is glorified we are loved.  The two are inseparable.  To pray for God’s glory is to pray for love, redemption, healing, grace, care, and joy, for starters.

God is glorified (at least) whenever:

• Relationships are healed,
• Families are reunited,
• Children are cared for,
• Our loved ones are heard and understood,
• Beauty is appreciated,
• Spouses are encouraged,
• We pray!
• We love!

God is never glorified when we hate one another, or we provoke anger.  God is not glorified apart from love, and God is always glorified in love.

So, in answer to the original question, “Why did God create us?” I should answer: “So God could share his infinite love.”  This even solves the problem of sin and pain in the world.  What would love be if we didn’t have the choice to not love God?  God is glorified even more, and we love and are loved even more because we don’t have to.  We appreciate life most when a loved one passes away.  We appreciate freedom most when it is threatened or taken from us.  We appreciate each other most when we are separated by distance and time.

The only thing greater than our need for love is God’s ability to freely pour it out upon us.  And that is the meaning of His Glory.