glory

“Al, maybe the word ‘wealth’ actually means ‘wealth’! Sometimes there isn’t a deeper meaning to a word.”
-wisdom from my wife, Naida

Admittedly, I tend to be a definition and etymology freak. My wife, of all people, knows this very well. One night, our small group was studying Jesus’ encounter with the rich young ruler and I mentioned that maybe the word ‘wealth’ meant something other than ‘wealth’. My wife said plainly, “Al, maybe the word ‘wealth’ actually means ‘wealth’! Sometimes there isn’t a deeper meaning to a word.” Everyone in the group got a laugh and we moved on. Later in the evening, our small group prayed together and in the midst of the prayer, my mind couldn’t stop racing about the word ‘glory’. Here’s why…

Several weeks before this small group meeting, I was in attendance of a Christian conference where one of the main speakers continually used the word ‘glory’. Whether it was ‘the glory of the Lord’, or ‘receiving the glory’, or ‘being in the glory’, this speaker used the word ‘glory’ enough to make me – you guessed it – look up the definition and more than that, the Greek meaning of the word ‘glory’.

The word ‘glory’ comes from the Greek word ‘doxa’ which means opinion, judgment or view. It can also mean: to be of opinion, think, suppose or it could also mean: it seems to me. I wrote this information down in my journal and didn’t think anything of it until this moment of prayer in our Tuesday night small group.

At first, I thought it interesting that we would use the word glory SO much in church, especially with the understanding of it’s real definition. Just try inserting the word judgment or opinion or view in with some of the typical church sayings with the word glory and it makes things a bit interesting. For instance:

“let your glory fall” = “let your opinion fall” or “let your judgment fall”

“To God be the Glory” = “to God be the opinion” or “To God be the view”

Interesting…

During our prayer time, I realized just how much I missed the point. Glory is opinion, it is judgment and it is view. It is God’s opinion, God’s judgment and God’s view. The glory of the Lord would be truly glorious if God’s people actually had His opinion, His judgment and His view of His world. How radical would it be if Christians – those who follow Jesus – actually carried with them at all times a God-view of our surroundings; that our worldview would become a God-view.

Trust me, this is not some hokey try-to-rhyme, trite playoff on the idea of a worldview. How truly glorious would it be if God’s people viewed His world, His creation, His people (regardless of where they stand in their relationship with Jesus or God) as He does. This would be radical love, this would be a truly worldview. It’s a view of a world like no other. It’s a view of humanity like no other. It’s a view of people like no other. This is glory defined.

Glory is not an action toward God for God, and quite frankly, I’m not entirely sure what it is….except that it is an action of God, for God, by God – through us, His people. When we are Christ-like, having the mind of Christ, then we are Christians. Not by words but by deeds. So it is with glory. When God has graced us with the ability to view His world as He views His world, then the words of Jesus come alive. ‘Let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.’

God receives glory from those who view His world the same way He views His world – with genuine compassion and relational love. This ‘glory’ enables us to engage life through serving humanity the same way He served. This ‘glory’ enables us to lose our life for the sake of finding it.

I don’t want to live my life accepting the cultural definition of words – regardless of the context. Only in an honest quest for truth will we grow into the calling placed on our lives.