John 17 - How Jesus Said to Glorify God

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This whole blogging thing has been a great idea. It's therapeutic in a way, so if you're reading this, thanks for being a part of my own therapy during this crazy time.

Things are fun in the Millard household. We have actually taken to being quarantined pretty well. Aubrey is a fantastic cook and has been experimenting with new recipes. It's been a blast. I'm a double-extravert, so some days my mind goes a bit numb from not being around people.

Overall, things are fantastic. The COVID-19 fiasco has hit us a bit financially, but not nearly as much as I anticipated. It feels to us more like a mediocre sales month rather than a global economic downturn. God provides. That's always been the case, and it always will be. We are SUPER thankful for that. (Philippians 4:19)

One constant theme over the past few day has been how our job as Christians is to "glorify" God. I've been thinking a lot about this and really wanting to know what "glory" really means. It all came together when I had a bible study with a couple of guys recently (virtually, I promise) as well as my quiet times in John 15, and then 17 a few days later. Here's what I've gathered thus far.

To Glorify is To Magnify

I looked up the definition of "glorify" both as it's used in the original Greek and just a regular English dictionary. The main point I come to understand is that to "glorify" means to magnify. Essentially, it means to reveal. So to glorify God is to reveal something about who he is.

This makes Hebrews 1:3 seem so much clearer:
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.
Of COURSE! Jesus is the radiance of the glory of God because his life shows us more of who God is than any other gift the Father has given us. This principle is illustrated multiple times, most notably when Jesus tells Phillip "when you see me, you see the father" (John 14).

Glorifying God is a Constant, Not a Moment

Most people I talk to associate glorifying God with singing songs and praising God for who He is. They believe that in that moment, we are glorifying God. I wasn't satisfied with that answer, because I didn't see anything in scripture that supported that narrative.

Now that I've studied and learned more about what glory means, I realize that people who say that aren't wrong, but -- as usual -- singing to the Lord is a demonstration of glorifying God, but it isn't even close to what Jesus calls glorifying God.

Glorifying God is more about what our LIFE demonstrates, not only our voices. This brings me to my quiet time the other day.

We Glorify God by Doing What Jesus Did  

In Jesus Priestly Prayer (John 17) he reports to the Father that "I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do." 

 Thinking about this, I don't believe that we can subjectively decide "What God wants us to do" and then saying that doing those things glorify God. I believe that the things Jesus did are the things He gave us as an example of a life that glorifies God. 

 So what's my application? Focus on the life of Christ, and focus on what HE focused on, and do what HE did. It's a tall order, but one I have my entire life to pursue. 

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