John 5:44 - "How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the One and only God?"
"You do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God"? God glorifies me? God glorifies me. It feels wrong to ask God to glorify me. After all, isn't it my job - not even that - my purpose on earth - to glorify Him? Isn't that why I was made? Then again, what glory do I even have to give Him? He has it all. He doesn't need whatever paltry, terrestrial glory I can try to muster or conjure. I had a 4.0 GPA in high school. Does that work? I even got to do the valedictory speech... so I've got that glory I can give Him. Surely He needs that, right? Um...is this thing on? Digging deep - going way back to the back of my earthly glory room... maybe it's more of a glory closet...cabinet. Okay, you've got me. It's a glory shoebox... that's mostly empty. Yeah, I've got nothing. I'm so glad He doesn't need the earthly glory I could give him.
The fact is, He has all the glory - glory so intense and so beyond human scope and understanding that it would kill us to even look upon it. (Exodus 33) He desires to bestow that glory on me? That is also beyond my comprehension. We (the church) are His "bride", after all. That implies a consensually reciprocal type of relationship... not a symbiotic "he needs me and I need him" type of relationship but rather "He wants me, and I need Him." Each having in mind the good reputation and character of the other, bride and groom seek to glorify one another. Historically, in virtually ever culture known to man, that has been the position of the bride...one of helplessness - to protect herself, to provide for herself, to even survive. Certainly that was the culture/era in which the Bible was written. She had one thing to give her groom: the treasure of herself... her being - heart, body, and soul - from whence come her beauty, her life-giving capacity, her personality, her skills, and her abilities. Likewise, we are helpless and have nothing but ourselves to give. Also, historically/culturally speaking, the groom comes into a marriage with the vast majority of the goods. He comes with the desire and intent to bestow all his worldly goods and even his very life on his bride. His glory will now belong to her. He "glorifies" her by marrying her.
Of course we should ask God to glorify us. After all, who has all the glory to give? I should deflect any worldly glory/accolades man might also give me to The One who has made me glorious by His sacrifice. God does not lose any of His own glory by glorifying me any more than a groom loses his riches by bestowing them on his bride. In fact, the groom's glory is made more obvious - enhanced - in its bestowal on his bride. The adorning of her neck, her head, her hands and feet with precious metals and jewels and of her body with rich fabrics... all of these show those who gaze upon the bride to whom she belongs and that her groom is one of supremely noble character who is not only rich in property but also in generosity and lavish love for his bride. By glorifying his beloved bride, he has glorified himself. He has displayed a love for his bride that is so pure, immense, true, loyal, and steadfast that he entrusts his bride with all of his wealth and abundance. He trusts her with abandon and holds back absolutely no good thing from her. He entrusts her with his very name...having no fear that she would soil it. This is the heartbeat of our God toward us - His very blessed chosen bride. He holds back nothing from us.
He held back no part of Himself when He caused Mary to conceive Jesus. He gave Jesus to us not to be half God and half man but rather fully both God and man. He laid Himself bare, because He has nothing to lose. He has never ceased to be vulnerable with mankind, and for that, we killed Him. He chose to be glorified by a humble earthly parentage, a manger birth, a modest life, and a criminal's death. His "glorious riches" - the "jewels" with which He lavishes us - are His kindness, forbearance, and patience (Romans 2:4). They are His matchless grace (Ephesians 1:7). These -- the very things mankind lacks most. The riches that set Him apart from us and make Him so very attractive are the ones that change both giver and receiver.
In Exodus 33, Moses tells God, "Show me your glory." He was given the tiniest glimpse of that glory and came down off Mt. Sinai to a bunch of whining ingrates with his face positively aglow from the encounter of that glimpse. I want to go a step further... I don't want to just see it. I want to have it. I've been freed up to recognize my ability to ask Him to give it to me. The purpose of my desire being singularly this: to radiantly display the glorious jewels of steadfastness, good character, loyalty, unfailing love, trustworthiness, kindness, patience, grace, and countless other things which have made Jesus, The Church's "groom", not only worthy of my love, respect, and worship but also trustworthy with my fragile and broken heart.
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