S28P2 – Our saintly duty: to glorify God

2 Thes. 1:9‭-‬10
These people will pay the penalty and endure the punishment of everlasting destruction, banished from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed, because our testimony to you was believed and trusted.

Glorifying God takes on many forms. A common understanding of glorification is to bring honor or worship to that which is being glorified. For us, singing songs of praise to the Father brings him glory. Likewise, God is glorified by our prayers to him and our witness to others about his goodness and his love. If we look at this as a parent-child relationship, it is like the child respecting and honoring the parent. When the child obeys the parent, the parent is glorified by the child. When the child shows love and adoration to the parent, the parent is glorified by the child. This is different, however, from the parent being glorified in the child. That occurs when a child emulates the traits of the parent as a result of desiring to be of the same character. This is what it will mean for the Lord to return and be glorified in his saints.

When Jesus returns, his goal is to find faith on Earth. What He will be looking for is those believers who have taken on his character and who walk on this Earth as He walked on this Earth. He will be looking for us to be like him. In order for the Lord to be glorified in us, we must continually grow and transform into his character. But this is not something that we merely hope will happen prior to his return; this is something that must happen prior to his return. Today’s scripture tells us that one of the purposes of his return is to be glorified in his people. This is a certain thing that will occur, and it is our duty to make sure that the Lord is glorified in us if we are here when He comes back. As followers who have submitted our lives to Jesus Christ, it is not only a privilege to be conformed to his character but a responsibility to do so. We do not hope that this will happen by chance, but we intentionally seek to bring it about.

For God to be glorified in us we must become Godly from the inside out. We cannot rely on mere pretenses of apparently Godly behavior if we have not been transformed internally. Scripture clearly indicates that it is our Father’s desire for his children to be like him. As his royal priesthood, we are his representatives in this world. When people try to refute his love or his goodness or even his existence, it is our living testimony that proves God. The power of our truly Godly character to reflect the character of our Father and draw others closer to him is immeasurable. It is our duty to walk in this power so that God can be glorified in us. Father, thank You for allowing us to become like You, and give us a sincere desire to grow in that daily.