“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” Romans 3:23
This familiar verse is frequently quoted to show that “all have sinned”, but too often we fail
to explain that all of us have also “come
short of the glory of God”. God’s glory has to do with his majesty,
power, honor, and greatness; it has to do with the brightness of his presence.
And since God is a jealous God, he doesn’t allow anyone to share his glory.
“I
am the LORD: that is my name: and my
glory will I not give to another, neither my praise to graven images.”
Isaiah 42:8
Lucifer is a prime example of a being that tried to share
God’s glory, but God rejected him and cast him down to hell (Isaiah 14:12-15).
Such is the end of every man who enters eternity without Christ; they try to
merit salvation by their own goodness, but they “come short of the glory of God”. Herod is a human example of
someone who was exalted and refused to give God the glory.
“And
upon a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat upon his throne, and made
an oration unto them. And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a
god, and not of a man. And immediately
the angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory: and
he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost.” Acts 12:21-23
In the Old Testament, the “glory of God” rested upon the Ark of the Covenant. On one occasion, the Philistines took the ark on the same day that Eli’s daughter-in-law gave birth. Based on this knowledge, she named her child, “Ichabod”, which means “the glory of the Lord is departed”.
“And
she named the child Ichabod, saying,
The glory is departed from Israel:
because the ark of God was taken, and because of her father in law and
her husband.” 1 Samuel 4:21
Could it be that the “glory
of God” has departed from your life? All of us have failed, we all have
missed the mark and “come short of the
glory of God”, but when a man or woman acknowledges their sins and
confesses them, and asks God to forgive them, God shines his glory in their
hearts!
“For
God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our
hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” 2 Cor.
4:6
I could only find two reasons for a person to “glory”, once is when Paul found “glory” in the cross of Jesus Christ
(Galatians 6:14), the other is for all those who “understandeth and knoweth” God!
“Thus saith the LORD, Let not
the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his
might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth
glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me…” Jeremiah
9:23, 24a
Friend, you don’t need to improve your life, you need to
be changed by knowing God. Behold the Bible as a mirror / looking glass,
with “open face”, and be “changed” by God’s Spirit today!
“But we all, with open face
beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image
from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 3:18
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