If you’ve ever listened to Christian radio or TV programs for more than a second or two, you’ve no doubt heard them talking about “glory.” It seems like it’s always glory this, glory that, and glory hallelujah. So what’s the glory story all about anyway?
Glorious, as defined in the dictionary, is: “having a striking beauty or splendor that evokes feelings of delighted admiration.” So, that stirs up some pretty cool images, doesn’t it? It does for me. Maybe I’m biased (in fact, I’m sure of it), but I want my God to be glorious. I want Him to be better than everything else in the universe…combined. So, it’s easy for me to see Him that way.
Here’s an example of the glory story.
And when I read Paul’s writing in 2 Corinthians 3:7-18, I find the glory story I mentioned in the first paragraph. Paul lays out how glorious the new promise (covenant) is. He shows how the old covenant between God and Israel was glorious because it showed God’s love toward His people. But Paul also illustrates how the old covenant was a “ministry of condemnation.” This new promise is a ministry of righteousness. It’s a promise of eternal life for anyone who believes in the person and deity of Jesus. His righteousness bought and paid for the gift of eternal life for anyone who believes and trusts in Him.
You know what? I want that. I can’t imagine even a skeptic saying “No, I don’t want that.” But they do…by the millions, even billions. If eternal life is even a remote possibility, I want it. And I want to discover as much about it as possible…because eternal life sounds glorious to me. Imagine…life without end, without pain and suffering, without death and dying, without end.
You don’t have to imagine it. It’s real. It’s waiting for you. And it’s yours…all you have to do is ask. Ask and you will receive. God created you. He loves you. He wants you to live forever with Him in paradise. But He won’t force you to be there. If you’d rather be apart from Him forever, He’s made a place where you can exist without Him. That place holds no glory, no hope, no love, no life. You’ll be your own king or queen in a universe of one.
If you don’t mind me saying so…don’t make an ignorant decision. Gather as much information about God and Jesus as you can. Don’t just listen to news organizations, Hollywood, or even televangelists. Check out reliable historical documents. Read the Bible. It won’t bite you. If you sincerely seek the truth and you don’t find that Jesus is The Way, The Truth, and The Life, then at least you’ll have made a decision against Him based on your own individual research.
But my guess is this…if you sincerely seek the truth, THE Truth will change your heart, and I’ll get to see you in paradise. Now that’s the Glory Story I’m talkin’ about!
In Faith, Hope, and Love,
