Glory!
Consider: What is the most valuable or beautiful item that you own, or that you have ever seen?
Learn: Luke 2:8-14 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”
What is glory? Twice in this passage we see this word used, once when referring to the glory of the Lord that shone around the angels, and once when the angels say “glory to God.” But we don’t use that word much, do we, expect possibly when we say something is glorious.
That gives us a little hint, because glory partly has to do with how beautiful and splendid are God’s acts and his very character. The angels said “glory to God in the highest” because what he was doing was the most amazing, beautiful, splendid, and gracious act that he had done. They couldn’t help but shout out “glory to God in the highest!”
Glory also has to do with God’s worth and giving honor to his worth. A great painting, a valuable amount of gold, a beautiful castle all have great worth, and their maker or owner deserves credit or honor for obtaining or making these things. When we give God glory, we are giving God the credit and the honor for the amazing acts that he has done. His actions display how incredible he is as a person, so giving God glory not only refers to his actions but also to his very nature. It was fitting for the multitude of angels to gather together to proclaim praise to God because God is so very great!
Apply: This week, think about how you can verbally give credit to God for who he is or something that he has done in your life.
I Commend Joy! 