{"id":779,"date":"2021-06-15T08:33:55","date_gmt":"2021-06-15T15:33:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/?p=779"},"modified":"2021-06-15T08:33:55","modified_gmt":"2021-06-15T15:33:55","slug":"god-calls-me-to-glorify-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/?p=779","title":{"rendered":"God Calls Me to Glorify Him"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(Colossians 3:15-17)<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three letters, SDG, not to be confused with the San Diego Gas & Electric company (SDGE), can sometimes be found at the close of a Christian book or essay. Many a paper at pastor conferences has closed with those very letters. The Lutheran composers Bach and Handel included the letters in many of their musical compositions. What do they stand for? They are three Latin words – Soli Deo Gloria – <\/em>which mean, \u201cto God alone be the glory.\u201d It is a reminder that whatever worthwhile or significant contribution a person might make, God, who gave everyone their ability, skill, and talent to do anything excellent at all, is the one who deserves the glory. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we consider that element of our vocation, our calling, to glorify God, it might be helpful to first define what it means to give glory to someone or something. We sing of it in our songs and hymns, we come across it again and again in the Bible, so what do we mean when we speak of giving glory to or glorifying God? Is it one of those churchy terms that naturally flows from our lips without really processing in our heads and hearts what it actually means? What then does it mean to glorify God?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Actually, before we step into the \u201cwhat\u201d or even \u201chow,\u201d we may better be served addressing the \u201cwhy.\u201d Why glorify God? If we don\u2019t know why it makes a difference to give glory to God, then the what<\/em> or the how<\/em> don\u2019t really matter, do they? The what without the why ends up being that unused kitchen gadget that you had <\/em>to have at the time, but which ends up at the back of the gadget drawer or tucked away in the back of a cupboard somewhere because you don\u2019t remember why you ever got it. Knowing what or how it looks like to glorify God will only help us if knowing why moves and compels us to actually do so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First things first, let\u2019s be clear on this: God is already glorious. Glory already belongs to God. It is his, entirely independent of anything we might do. God doesn\u2019t need<\/em> us to give him glory. The psalmist pointed to creation itself as an indicator of his glory. \u201cThe heavens declare the <\/em><\/strong>glory<\/em><\/strong> of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork\u201d (Psalm 19:1)<\/em><\/strong>. Moreover, Jesus, the heart and soul of everything God had promised, by virtue of the victory he came to bring all people, is rightly called \u201ca light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the <\/em><\/strong>glory<\/em><\/strong> of your people Israel\u201d (Luke 2:32)<\/em><\/strong>. So glory already belongs to God. It is his as a result of his jaw-dropping creation and his unconditional salvation. In that regard we cannot bestow glory to God anymore than we can give the sun light or heat, for the sun is the source of those things and they emanate from it. In the same way, God\u2019s glory emanates from him. Therefore, when we speak of glorifying him, this isn\u2019t talk of giving something to God that he somehow lacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why then do we glorify him? Why do we speak of giving him glory if it\u2019s already his? The Bible reveals no fewer than three reasons why. First, when we glorify God we are simply acknowledging and highlighting the glory that is already his. We\u2019re giving it the attention it deserves, giving him <\/em>the attention he deserves. In giving glory to God, we are saying God is the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time). I recently saw a close-up of the glitter on Simone Biles\u2019 gymnastics uniform. There is a subtle – or not so subtle once you realize it\u2019s there – picture of a goat on it. Why? Because she is considered the GOAT of gymnastics, the greatest of all time. While there will always be debate over who is the goat in their respective fields when it comes to celebrities and superstars, there is no debate when God is brought into the discussion. We glorify him because we acknowledge that God is the GOAT. There never was, nor will there be anyone or anything greater. He is truly the greatest of all time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One who understood this and reflected it beautifully was John the Baptist. In speaking of Jesus, John the Baptist reflected: \u201cHe must increase, but I must decrease\u201d (John 3:30)<\/em><\/strong>. Less of us to make room for more of God. We\u2019ve all seen the decal on the back of cars that reflects this attitude, He > i. In humility we recognize that God is worthy of all attention, commendation, praise, and anything else of worth we might offer up to him. We glorify God because he alone is worthy of it. God is the GOAT.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In doing so, we also benefit. A second reason we glorify God becomes rather obvious when reflecting on the frequency of a certain attitude in the words from Colossians. Each verse in its own way reveals the same attitude, one of gratitude. The phrases \u201cbe thankful,\u201d \u201cwith gratitude in your hearts,\u201d<\/em><\/strong> and \u201cgiving thanks\u201d<\/em><\/strong> go hand-in-hand with glorifying God. Which one comes first, the glorifying or the gratitude? It doesn\u2019t matter – they feed off of each other! As we glorify God, it fills us with gratitude, and the more we\u2019re filled with gratitude, the more we want to glorify God. It becomes a spiritually healthy cycle that just keeps feeding itself. Glory leads to gratitude, and gratitude leads to glory. God is magnified, and we are filled with gratitude. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now I don\u2019t know where you might struggle emotionally. It might be worry that weighs on you. Perhaps anxiety rather easily overwhelms you. Maybe anger or short bursts of rage have plagued you. But you know what can help with all of them? Gratitude. It\u2019s not very easy to worry, to be anxious, or to be angry when I am filled with gratitude. In fact, it\u2019s extremely difficult, if not impossible, for those emotions to coexist with gratitude! Why else do we glorify God? Because when we remember that God is the GOAT, we also benefit, for glorifying him fills us with gratitude. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The third reason we glorify God is for the benefit of others. Through faith our eyes have been opened to see God\u2019s glory in so many ways. But Paul reminds us elsewhere that that isn\u2019t the case for everyone. Sin blurs God\u2019s glory so that it is not naturally seen. \u201cThe god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God\u201d (2 Corinthians 4:4)<\/em><\/strong>. If you\u2019ve been hiking or outside enjoying nature and caught sight of something spectacular off in the distance or using binoculars, it\u2019s frustrating when you try to help someone else see it, but they can\u2019t spot it. We point here and give directions there as to where they should be looking, but no matter what, they just can\u2019t see it. We want so badly for them to see what we\u2019re looking at, but the moment passes and they miss out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

God doesn\u2019t want that to be the case when it comes to the unbeliever seeing his glory. So what is his solution? You are. Listen to how Peter echoed the words of Jesus from our Gospel (cf. Mt. 5:13ff) this morning. Peter wrote, \u201cLive such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us\u201d (1 Peter 2:12)<\/em><\/strong>. What does it mean for them to \u201csee your good deeds and glorify God\u201d? It means that they were brought to faith – through you! Not that God somehow did an end-around and avoided his Word in the process, but rather through you, God wants to draw others to his glory, always revealed through the Word, so they, too, might know him as their Savior! That\u2019s why Jesus sends us to be salt and light, so that others might bring him glory by believing in him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We may not always like playing the numbers game. We sometimes downplay the tracking of numbers, of attendance, of metrics, and surely we do have to be careful when it comes to an unhealthy focus on numbers. But you know what? God is a numbers guy. God is very interested in numbers! You know how many people he wants to be in heaven with him to spend eternity with him when he returns on the Last Day? More. Always more. It\u2019s safe to say that if Jesus hasn\u2019t returned yet, God is waiting for more to be added. That means he\u2019s waiting for you to glorify him with your good deeds that are so attractive to the unbelieving world that they are drawn to him and to his Word, and are added to his kingdom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s your why. We glorify God because God is the GOAT, because it fills us with gratitude, and because it turns unbelievers into believers. Now let\u2019s put some gas in the tank. What fuels us to give glory to God? It\u2019s the peace that he first gives to us. Gratitude isn\u2019t the only theme that runs through the verses from Colossians this morning; so is peace. Paul wrote, \u201cLet the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him\u201d (Colossians 3:15-17)<\/em><\/strong>. Where does the gratitude that goes hand-in-hand with glorifying God come from? It comes from the peace that we have in Jesus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you have that peace? I mean, really, does peace mark your days? Are they characterized by peace, or\u2026 something else? Busyness? Inadequacy? Guilt? Restlessness? You do know that Jesus came to set you free from all of that, right? So if you don\u2019t have it, why don\u2019t you have it? Paul hits on what might be one thing to address if you\u2019re lacking peace: \u201clet the message of Christ dwell in you richly.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> Richly. Richly. Richly. When we allow the Word to be an afterthought or an \u201cI\u2019ll get to it later\u201d in our lives, we\u2019re only robbing ourselves of the peace we already have in Jesus! He\u2019s already done it all. You are forgiven. You are at peace with God. Your sin doesn\u2019t count against you. And, the icing on the cake is that he\u2019s already perfectly glorified his Father (cf. John 17) in your place! The work has been done. Live in the joy that Jesus has already earned for you. There is no fear for the child of God; just peace. When we live in that peace, glorifying God pours naturally out of it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So now to the practical matter of carrying out our calling, of giving glory to God – how do we do this? What qualifies as giving glory to God? After all, giving glory to God is a pretty big deal, right, so we must be talking about stuff on a pretty grand scale! Rightly giving glory to God surely involves overseas mission trips and generous charitable gifts and serving faithfully for years on church boards and committees – these are the things that truly glorify God, right? Sure they do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

But so do these: the every day, the mundane, the routine, the often-overlooked, the seemingly small and unnoticed words and actions that we carry out every single day. These, too, are the things by which we can glorify God! It\u2019s not the scale of the service that determines whether or not God is glorified in what we do, but rather the spirit of faith by which we do it. Simply put, virtually anything we do can be a way to glorify God, which is what Paul was emphasizing when he wrote \u201cwhatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus\u201d (v.17). <\/em><\/strong>When I consider that it is God who gave me the life and breath and health and ability to do anything and everything, all of it can glorify him. Then go and take out the trash to God\u2019s glory. Wash the dishes to God\u2019s glory. Lend your neighbor a hand to God\u2019s glory. Change a diaper to God\u2019s glory. Work hard at your job and help your coworker who is behind on a deadline to God\u2019s glory. Attend church to God\u2019s glory. Post on Facebook to God\u2019s glory. Go on a date to God\u2019s glory. When these and everything else we do are carried out because the peace we have in Jesus fills us up with such gratitude, then we are carrying out God\u2019s calling to glorify him. And we joyfully do that because God is the GOAT, because it raises our own gratitude, and because God uses it to make believers out of unbelievers. So go out and live an SDG life – Soli Deo Gloria;<\/em> \u201cto God alone be the glory.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Colossians 3:15-17) Three letters, SDG, not to be confused with the San Diego Gas & Electric company (SDGE), can sometimes be found at the close of a Christian book or essay. Many a paper at pastor conferences has closed with those very letters. The Lutheran composers Bach and Handel included the letters in many of… Continue reading God Calls Me to Glorify Him<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[128,65],"tags":[151,150,5,109,153,36,108],"class_list":["post-779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-summer-vocation-series","category-sermons","tag-glorify","tag-glory","tag-jesus","tag-preaching","tag-sdg","tag-sermon","tag-teaching"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p842FN-cz","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=779"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":780,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/779\/revisions\/780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}