To God be the glory!

Greetings brothers and sisters… Pastor Rob here

Do you speak “Christian-ese?” If you have been following Jesus for any length of time, you probably do. There are numerous words and phrases that we learn as we grow in our faith; words like, salvation, fellowship, quiet time, born again. These words have tremendous meaning, but as they become a regular part of our vocabulary we can forget the deep truths that they represent. One such phrase is, “To God be the glory!” Let’s take a moment to unpack the significance of this familiar phrase.

When we give glory to someone, we are, in a sense shining the light on that person. Imagine for a moment a Broadway stage with all the performers lined up to take their bows. Suddenly, all the lights in the theatre go out and a single spot light shines on the star of the show. At that moment, the star is getting all the glory! In the same way, when we say, “to God be the glory,” we are saying, “I want the spotlight to be on God alone!” And the strong implication is that I don’t want the spotlight to be on me! God is the One who deserves the applause, not me! Truly, God is the Star of the show! 

When the Lord was preparing to send Israel into the promised land under the leadership of Joshua, He told them that they were going into a fruitful land and that they would grow in prosperity, build beautiful homes and multiply their flocks and their herds. But He said there was a great danger facing them; namely that in their wealth, they would forget God; their hearts will be lifted up in pride, and they would say, “My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.” What was the danger?…That Israel world forget to glorify God and instead would glorify themselves. Instead of saying, “To God be the glory, great things He has done,” they would say, “To us be the glory, great things we have done!”

Behind those familiar words, “To God be the glory,” there stands this monumental truth: I am who I am, and I have what I have because of God alone! God is the One who knit me together in my mother’s womb. He is the One who chose the family I was born into, the country I was born into. He is the One who gave me my intelligence, my abilities, my stature, my personality. He is the One who graciously gives me every breath I take. And He is the One who graciously saved me from eternal death. Therefore, it is the height of foolishness and pride to say, “to me be the glory.” And, it is the pinnacle of wisdom and humility to truly say, “to God be the glory!”

Paul tells the Corinthians, “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor. 10:31) When we truly realize that we owe everything to the Lord, then giving Him the glory in whatever we do just makes sense. It’s a simple matter of giving credit where credit is due! 

—Pastor Rob