Glory in Excelsis Deo

"Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace,

good will toward men."

Luke 2:14

The sound of the bell floats across the air as I make my way to the supercenter to buy groceries for the week.  The smiling women greet me with a cheerful, "Happy Holidays," as the red bucket swings on the frame between them.  The Salvation Army has been using the infamous Red Kettle since 1891 to collect donations during Christmas time for their ministries throughout the year.  This most recognizable scene of the season is a symbol for a ministry that has been working to bring the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the poor, the homeless, the hungry and the destitute for nearly 160 years.  This got me to thinking about how I can best glorify God during this Christmas season.

Honor Him  Glorifying God means honoring Him with my life. It means living in such a way that people think of God when they see me and are inspired to draw closer to Him. This calls for intentional living, making a conscience effort to do things that reflect well upon my Savior.  Paul advised to have the attitude that, ". . . whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."  (I Corinthians 10:31)  In the Chinese culture, it is very important to do your best in everything in order to bring honor to your family.  This drives people to achieve greatness in order to give their family a good name.  If I adopt this attitude toward God, I would choose to do things that would give God a good name in our society.

Fruit  The Apostle Paul held this prayer for the church at Philippi:  "that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,  so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God." (Philippians 1:9-11)  The only way to be filled with the fruit of the Spirit, is to choose to let God have his way in my life instead of insisting on doing things my way.  When I let my fleshly desires rule my life, I produce fruit of the flesh.(anger, dissension, sexual immorality, selfish ambition, jealousy, etc)  But if I walk in God's spirit, His fruit will be evident. (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, self-control.  Galatians 5) This does not come from effort, but as a natural extension of God's work in my life.  If I let God have His way in my life, His fruit will reveal His awesomeness.

Unity  We don't naturally get along with each other.  Spend a little time in a family and this becomes painfully evident.  But cutting each other a break by not expecting more from others than I expect from myself is another way to bring glory to God.  Paul teaches in Romans 15 that we should be concerned with building up those around us, whether it be neighbors, family members, other believers or friends.  "Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God." (Romans 15:7)  If I accept those around me just the way they are, I can lift up the name of God to those I come in contact with.

During this busy Christmas season, I can glorify God by intentional living, choosing His way instead of mine and getting along with others. 

As I begin this day, it is my prayer that I can remember that bringing glory to God is the purpose for my existence.

How am I seeking to improve my reputation instead of lifting up God's?

When I think of all the people in my life, who am I the hardest on?