How do you Glorify God?

-- May 4th, 2008
John 17:1-11
Pastor John Nelson

Do you like getting glory? How would you define that anyway because there are a lot of ways to look at it? In sports we say to the victors goes the glory, meaning all the praise for their efforts. In academics the glory goes to those who make great discoveries or those who produce hard work. My own daughter endlessly wants glory, every Saturday asking, “Daddy, are you going to talk about me in your sermon? I better be in there!” I think she would be after what John Milton once described as, “For what is glory but the praise of fame.”

So what is Christ asking for here in this lesson from the gospel of John when he says Father, glorify me. Is he, like my daughter, in the pursuit of praise and fame or is he speaking of something else? How is it that one brings glory to God anyway? More than simply singing hymns or making shouts of praise, Jesus calls us here to give glory to God as he did.

Glory comes in the revealing of God from the relationship we have with God and God’s word. In this lesson we hear Jesus asking to be glorified so that it may be known that He was God’s son, that he would die and rise again to new life as God wished. This was not to gain attention, but that he might be used as a vessel of God’s glory to show how God has power over life and death.

Jesus also pointed out that he gave glory to God by completing the task he was sent to do, to make God’s name known. He had come to earth to make the love of God known to God’s chosen people and all those who were lost. Jesus did his best and even though everyone did not believe him or come and follow, he gave God glory by doing what he was sent to do.

Jesus adds that, the disciples in turn, in spite of their confusion and not understanding his intentions, still glorified Jesus by keeping God’s word. They continued to follow, continued to pray, continued to listen, and continued to learn all Christ taught them. They never figured out the how, but they well understood who it was that was leading them. They came to faith and held on to that belief.

You see, to glorify God does not come from the degree of the action but in the nature of what it reveals about God and God’s role in your life. Glory is not always in the extreme martyrdom or achievement, but more often than not in the motivation and mundane of life. Think of things you do in your life that may glorify God. I am not talking about standing on a street corner yelling “Repent Sinners”, I am talking about seeing the needy when you drive down the street and not looking the other way. I am talking about treating another person with respect even though they are different from you or hold a different political ideal than you do. I am talking about putting the needs of another before your own when you could justify being a little selfish.

How do you glorify God? It could be by simply keeping his word, or actually doing what he sent you to do. We all have gifts we are called to share. Are you using them for your own gain or ultimately for the good of others? Now I know some of you get frustrated when we talk about spiritual gifts because you feel you cannot figure out what yours is. Perhaps it is not one thing but the ways you live your life? When any of us perform work we have been given to do, and work to the best of our abilities, we give glory to God. When we bag groceries really well, we glorify God. When we repair a car or build a house knowing we did good honest work we glorify God. When we fill out reports and keep accurate records for the good of a company, we glorify God. When we care for the needs of those in our families, we glorify God. It is not always a spectacular spiritual thing we do, but why we do it. Do we do it for fame or do we do it because we have been taught to love as God first loved us.

We also give glory to God when we make space for God in our lives. When we take the time to worship, even though it means dragging along a screaming kid, we glorify God. When we take the time to pray, even though it means not having time to read the whole paper in the morning, we glorify God. When we make it known that God has a place in our lives, we glorify God. My son Tyler’s class had a project at school this past week where they looked at all the things in their neighborhood that they needed to live. He chose stickers for his house, a school, the grocery store, a clothing store, police and fire stations, a library, and a gas station. Then they had one blank sticker they could write in anything they wanted; a candy store, mall, playground, or whatever. Tyler wrote on the back, “I liked my map because I liked making the blank place a church.” That’s making God known. That is glorifying God. That’s also the best way to get in a sermon.

Giving glory to God is like making a grandpa smile. It’s living our life in a way God can see his work, the seeds that he planted starting to take root, maybe even sprout a little. It is like a grandpa seeing the lessons he taught his child being passed on and lived out in his grandchildren, and future generations after that.

Ultimately, when we are one, as God the Father and Jesus Christ are one, then we really give God glory. When we are of one mind and are one in mission, when we are working not for our own praise or that our name might be put on some plaque, but that God’s grace might be known, then we give God glory. It’s not easy to do in this world we live in and that is why Christ prayed for us saying, “Father, protect them and help them.” When we remain in God’s word, use the gifts we have been given, and work for the good of others, we all give glory to God as we reveal the hand God had in making us and making God’s name known.
Amen