Why God’s Self-Glorification Is Loving

Yesterday we discussed what it meant to “give God the Glory.”

How it is about magnifying God, and letting His splendor and beauty be seen by those around us.

Today we are going to talk about why God asks us to do this. And the answer if very simple.

Its for your happiness. Its for your joy. 

Yesterday I quoted John 15:8: This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

And just 3 verses later we see why we says this:

John 15:11: I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete (emphasis mine).

God is not telling you to glorify Him because he wants you to follow a list of rules for your life, or so that he can stroke his own ego. He is telling you that when you give honor to God, you will also be most joyful.

But how can this be?

God is God. By definition he is the greatest possible being in the universe. Nothing is above him, which means that there is no greater enjoyment than to bask in who he is. Than to look and behold his beauty.

Perhaps a metaphor will help better explain.

If Mountains could talk

Imagine that mountains could talk.

And you travel to the beautiful Swiss alps, but the whole time you just staring at your cell phone. Having even looked up for one second. Then all of a sudden one of the mountains says “hey, look up for a second.” And you do, and you are met with the most splendid view of your entire life.

Would you be angry with the mountains for telling you to look?

And what if your partner was there and had not said anything the whole time? What would you say to them?

If you were like me you would say half angrily: “Why didn’t you tell me to look up? I did not know what I was missing. I did not know the joy and beauty that was before me.”

That is just a little bit of what it is like with God. Telling others to behold his beauty is the most loving thing we can do, we allow them to enter into the joy of being with Him. 

And the result of all this?

We praise.

Which is what we will discuss tomorrow.

For now, be blessed.

Aaron,

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