To the praise of his glory

In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 
- Ephesians 1:11-12
 
God wants us to be for the praise of his glory.
 
“Glory” is one of those church-y words that a friend of ours calls “pastor blather.” We can slide past it without paying it any meaningful attention. At the same time, the biblical word “glory” is, according to John Piper, a word that’s almost impossible to fully define; it’s like “beauty.”
 
God’s glory is God as he really is. There’s something weighty to God’s glory, a majesty. God’s glory testifies to his goodness and strength the way a sunbeam testifies to the warmth of our nearest star.
 
And Paul claims that God wanted us to join his family so that the whole cosmos might see us and praise God. As a matter of fact, we’re made in his image. As we find our lives in Christ more and more God’s true beauty and goodness and kindness and gentleness and creativity and compassion and justice and love – his glory – are put on display. Everything that’s compelling about God begins to radiate out of us. That’s God’s will for us.
 
Wouldn’t you love for everything that’s glorious about God to be on display in you? Imagine people knowing you and hungering to know God; the way you sometimes meet a kid and then immediately want to go and find the child’s parents because you know they must be extraordinary people. That’s what Christ is doing as he changes your life and grows you into a new version of yourself.
 
How can you display God’s glory today? What facets of God’s glory are radiating through your life? Pay attention to it and celebrate God’s good work.

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