When God's Glory Becomes Ours

Over the last few weeks I have been involved in a weight loss program that takes a radical approach to maintaining a healthy lifestyle diet in the way that God intended us to use food. So far, I must say that the physical results have been incredible as I have lost some weight but more importantly, I feel significantly more healthy. Because I have fully embraced this new way of life, I have also taken the time to do additional research about the food industry and what we have accepted as being a part of the "normal" American diet. It is shocking to discover that many things which we allow our bodies to consume are actually destroying us rather than producing nutrition that maintains the very life which God has given us. Through this process, the Lord has revealed a truth to me that has brought great conviction and a new perspective in my worship of Him.

There has been a lot of talk over the last few years about the "glory of God." As we worship, we often cry out for the Lord to "Show us Your glory" or we want to "be in the glory." Many of the songs we sing reflect this idea and when we consider the "glory of God" coming down on His people, we often visualize the Old Testament temple where the cloud came down and consumed the Holy of Holies. In reality, we already have the "glory of God" among us as it exists in Jesus Christ in us "the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27).  What we are really asking for is God's "manifest presence" to not only be made known within us but also among us. We want the tangible and supernatural presence of the Holy Spirit to be made known in the midst of His people. Although we could agree that these moments are not everyday occurrences, we still desire these moments each time that we come into the presence of the Lord. The questions, however, should be "Can this happen more than it does and if it can, what is preventing it from happening?"

By this time, you're probably confused as I have started talking about a diet and am now shifting my thoughts toward the glory of God. I would be too had not God revealed to me an incredible connection between these two thoughts. If you consider the passages of the Old Testament where the glory of God manifested in the midst of His people, you will find a common thread. Whether we are looking at the tabernacle or temple (Lev. 9, 2 Chron. 5-7), God's manifest presence did not "just appear;" rather, it was because there were certain preparations that had to be made in order for the sacrifice of worship to be pleasing to the Lord. Great care was taken in making sure that the temple (or tabernacle) was what God commanded it to be. Problems arose for Israel when they neglected the temple and began to institute worship that was outside of the standards that God has set forth.

In 1 Corinthians 3:16, 6:19 and 2 Corinthians 6:16, Paul makes incredible statements---we are the "temple of the Living God!" Additionally, Paul makes it clear that we "are not our own" and we were "bought with a price" (1 Corinthians 6:20 and 7:23). We may believe this theologically, but do we actually believe this practically? The problem is that we have to! Worship cannot be just a "theological pursuit." It must translate into the everyday practices of life. Somewhere along the way we have developed the idea that when it comes to certain things in life, "I have the right to decide what I do and when I do it!" Had the Israelites believed that the temple was "their temple" and the God was only a guest who had to put up with whatever accommodations they prepared, we may have never known of the "glory" that was so beautifully displayed in the Old Testament.

When we begin to adopt a mindset that I can treat God's temple however I please, I take what is His glory--my life in Christ---and I make it my own. If that's the case, why would God want to display His glory through my life if I am bent on treating it with such contempt? "Oh come on Jay, you're sounding quite legalistic in all of this. You mean to tell me that I should consider God in what I eat, drink, watch, listen, and participate in? What about His grace?" Would you allow someone to come into your house and do what they want? Why do we do the same to God? The grace of God is the fact that He has allowed us to live in the house He created for Himself to dwell in. We should be living life as if we are the visitor in the temple of the human body. If like the priests of the Old Testament, we make the necessary preparations in our temple, what do you think the result would be? It's not that God does not want to make Himself manifest in our lives, it just at times, He can't. He has declared "I will not yield my glory to another" (Is. 48:11).

God's will for our lives is simple: that He may be glorified in us. Romans 12:1-2 states "Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of God's mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God---this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of the world (making yourself the lord of your life), but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. THEN, you will be able to test and approve what God's will is---his good, pleasing, and perfect will." When we finally realize that we are "not our own" and that we are the "temple of the Holy Spirit." we can begin to live a life that truly reflects the "glory" of God. Just like the temple of the Old Testament, when the pattern of our life is in accordance with what God has demanded, it is in that place where His glory will fall upon us. As for those milkshakes and chocolate candy bars, consider asking God what He wants you to put in His temple. After all, we are more than just spirit, we are flesh and stewards of the flesh and blood we have been give. Perhaps the greatest act of worship unto the Lord is for us to actually live as our lives as  not our own and to have absolutely no rights unto ourselves.