glorified

 

DEVOTION

THE 2^ND LETTER TO THE THESSALONIANS

GLORIFIED

2 Thess 1:11-12

11 With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith. 12 We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.  

NIV

Having considered being worthy of our calling and fulfilling every good purpose by his power, we also need to ponder on the why. Paul said what he said so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified and us in him. This happens according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ. As we already understand everything in our life is by the power of our Lord. This is why we should not take any credit for the things we do or for who we are. It seems contradictory to our culture or the way of this world. In the here and now, the society in which we live, it sure seems the people desire credit for whatever they do. We have been raised with that type of thinking. Our first exposure is from our youth when we were praised for our first step, rewarded with a good grade for doing well on a test, or praised for some achievement. As adults life continues based on our achievements, and if we are to pursue our choice or our path we need a brag sheet, or what is more acceptably called a resume. Everything is about self and the fulfillment of our passions and pleasures. However, as a follower of Christ, our lives now have a new direction in that we are to bring glory to him. Our life is no longer about bringing glory to ourselves, however, what happens in our pursuit of bringing glory to Jesus, he bestows glory on us. How that works exactly has everything to do with the grace of God. As we are always aware that the word translated as grace carries this meaning of the divine influence upon our heart and how that is reflected in our lives. So then, as God’s divine influence, along with power, directs our path, it would be a natural expectation that God would be glorified and that he would be the one who flows through us, thus glorifying us in the process. It seems strange that we should even be glorified at all, considering who we are. However, if we take a look at Jesus as he walked this earth, He always showed His relationship with the Father and gave the Father the credit for what He did. Of course, we say that Jesus was divine, but he limited himself to being human, yet he was glorified by the Father. People flocked to Him, followed after Him, wanted to be with Him, and hear what he had to say, as well as receive healings, both physical and spiritual. We might actually be able to say that Jesus was walking in the Spirit. That may well be how our lives could be as we walk in the Spirit. We would be living to glorify God and He would bless our lives in such a way that we would be more like Jesus, by seeing people healed, speaking truth in people’s lives, giving them hope of eternal life, through our Lord Jesus. People might even flock to hear our words of hope, our words of truth, and find healing for their sick souls. So then, our life would reflect the grace of God, and through the power of God, there would be a mutual glorification, we in Him, and He in us.