Each Person's Glory

As I watched my wife with her daughters-in-law, I could see her glory. The room was alive with things like Pinterest and knitting and meals and so much more. My wife was created to connect in a way that brings a peace and a joy to a room. I get a phone call. There is an intense give and take as I attempt to help someone work through a very difficult situation. I am not my wife, but in my own way, I too am a relationship person. We each have our own glory.

First Corinthians 15:41 tells us that there is one glory of the sun, another of the moon and the stars. God has His glory and every human being was created for glory … for substance, for weightiness, for something of inexplicable value that has the potential to radiate out its brightness.

When I read Romans 3:23 that all have fallen short of the glory of God, I think about us falling short of God’s glory … which is a no brainer. His magnificence far eclipses anything we could ever hope to be. But as I have meditated on that verse, what I now see is that we fall short of what God intended us to be. We fall short of the radiance that should be our lives.

God has designed us to radiate. We send out waves of life or death. Our lives have impact on one another. Like tens of thousands of candles in a dark stadium, our glory, joined with the glory of others has the power to shout of His glory to a watching universe.

There is a glory that I am created to radiate. When I fall short of that glory, I feel it. I know it. I am frustrated with myself. My wife doesn’t particularly care if she is able to help someone through a difficult counseling situation. She’d love to be able to help others in that way. But it is not her glory. It is not life or death to her. It is not her passion. But to be there for family … to love, to accept, to strengthen, to nurture … “Wow!” She has been that kind of life for me and for my family. She demonstrates a glory that I could never match.

Far too often, she looks at herself and is frustrated because she falls short. She would like to be a more dynamic personality in church or have more energy to do more stuff. But she is a connector and a nurturer. A “be with you” person. High energy just doesn’t work for a person with that calling.

Moses knew he was to be a deliverer. He tried to deliver the Hebrew people in his own strength. It didn’t work. He delivered his future wife when other shepherds tried to delay her in watering her sheep. Eventually he answered the call to be the deliverer of Israel … this time in partnership with God.

What is your glory? Find it. Invite God into the middle of it and shine. When the body of Christ joins

together, with each one walking in his own glory, it truly is magnificent. It is the closest thing to the glory of God we will know until we see God Himself. Take a moment to appreciate the glory of someone you love and give thanks for the work God is doing through them … and through you. Enjoy His glory, now. His glory is life.