When we think about what a Christian is supposed to do in this life, all sorts of positive actions come to mind. We seem to know what it means to be Christian, but then we are faced with various admonishments to give glory to God. And we ask ourselves, “How can we, simple humans give glory to God?” After all, God is glorious so how can we give glory to God?

     Each day Christians are reminded to turn their hearts and minds toward God. We do this in many ways: through prayer, through examination, through trying to find God in all things in life, or at the very least to recognize God’s presence in the little and mundane things of life. Each day we are asked to remind ourselves that we are indeed baptized Christians, and as such, we have a mission and a purpose.

     Our mission is to spread the Gospel message of Jesus. That’s also known as evangelization. Quite simply, this mission of ours is to share what we know and believe about God as revealed through His Son, Jesus, to others. Our purpose is to go about our mission by saying and doing exactly what we profess. If we truly take to heart our Christian identity then how we act towards others and what we say to them will reflect the love, compassion, and mercy of God. That is how we glorify God.

     God doesn’t need us to glorify him. We do so to demonstrate that God is real, that God is active, that God showers us with love and mercy. When we act or speak contrary to the nature of God, then we are not glorifying God at all. Use any analogy you like: if you truly love your spouse would you abuse or speak ill of him/her? In the same way, how do we act towards our children, our parents, or our Church.

     To give glory corroborates our life and what we hold most dear. Perhaps to help us we could include something like this in our daily prayer: Help us Lord, to spend this day for Your glory and our neighbor’s good. 

Deacon Tim Crooker, Pastoral Associate