TO CHEW ON: "And blessed be His glorious name forever!
And let the whole earth be filled with His glory.
Amen and Amen." Psalm 72:19
The grand words "And let the whole earth be filled with His glory" may bring out two reactions in us:
1] Longing for such a time. Because the whole earth sure isn't filled with God's glory right now.
2] Cynicism that such a thing could ever be. Is there even any practicality in praying for such a state?
However, the meaning of the word glory carries within it the avenue by which God's glory can spread to all parts of the earth even now. [Glory means, among other things, distinguished honor or praise, exalted reputation, something bringing praise or renown.] Implied is that there will be someone or something to bestow that honour and enhance that reputation. We can be those glory-spreaders.
God's glory can be reflected in us through Christlike behaviour. Here that reflection takes on international potential as we observe God the ruler in action. What kind of ruler is He?
1] He is a just ruler, fair to the power and powerless (Psalm 72:2,4).
2] He is a compassionate ruler (Psalm 72:12).
3] He is a ruler under which even the land flourishes (Psalm 72:16).
His glory can begin to "fill the whole earth" as each one of us advances His reputation by adopting His glorious ways in our personal and public lives. We do this by being:
Just: If we are bosses or supervisors or parents, we deal fairly with our employees/underlings/children.
Compassionate: For us this may mean a variety of things from giving money to charities, to volunteering at our local mission or foodbank, to refraining from NIMBY-ism (acronym for Not In My Back Yard i.e. by supporting things like homeless shelters in our neighbourhoods).
Diligent: We have no power over the weather or rain, but in our land of adequate water, even a well-maintained hanging basket can reflect God's glory. I remember a missionary to Kazakhstan talking about how the planting of flowerbeds to beautify the outside of his apartment building was an unusual and novel thing in that stark place. Even the way we take care of ourselves and our homes can be a means of spreading God's glory.
A sidebar article in my Bible says:
"As we grow in godliness we begin to understand that God blesses us with a purpose in mind — blessing us that we might be a blessing to others and so that the nations of the Earth will come to know Him (Genesis 12:2)...Extend God's blessing in the Earth that His name will be praised among the nations" - Leslyn Musch, "Truth-In-Action Through Psalms," New Spirit Filled Life Bible, p. 741.
PRAYER: Dear God, please help me to spread Your glory through a life characterized by justice, compassion and beauty. Amen.
MORE: "Hear the Call of the Kingdom" - Keith and Kristyn Getty
Hear the call of the Kingdom
To be children of light
With the mercy of heaven
The humility of Christ
Walking justly before Him
Loving all that is right
That the life of Christ may shine through us
all lyrics
*NIMBY: Not In My Back Yard
I'd like you to know that your daily sharing is wonderful and brings new thoughts to me that are both comforting and upbraiding...for my good! Bless you
ReplyDeleteThank you so much L! "Upbraiding"... that's a good word, and something that God's Word never ceases to do in us, right? Oh to become doers (and not just sayers) of it all.
ReplyDelete