Why It is All About God's Glory

“Why is it all about God’s glory?” I’ve asked this many times. What is the purpose of life? To glorify God in all that we do. What was the purpose of salvation? To glorify God by reconciling sinners into a personal relationship with Himself. Why are idols so evil? Because they compete for God’s glory. It all comes down to His glory, His honor, His reputation.

Frankly, at times this concept has been rather mystifying to me. If the object of such possessiveness of glory were not God Himself, I would accuse the person of arrogance and selfishness.

Now let me turn this idea on its head.

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Think of all that we gain from our relationship with God. We gain the power of His protection, the comfort of His presence, the erasure of all our sins, the substitution of His righteousness for our filthiness, the overwhelming infusion of His love, the birth of new life and purpose, the sure promise of eternal life… The list is greater than we can possibly number.

What does God get in return? Praise. Gratitude. Love. Now we must be honest: Does the intensity and frequency of our praise, our gratitude, or our love match the number or greatness of all the blessings He has showered on us? Does our obedience and trust match the level of faithfulness and constancy that He has shown toward us?

God is a jealous God, but even when He reminds us that He is worthy of glory, He knows that we will never come close to repaying Him for all He has given to us. Even though the entire scope of human history has centered on Him, He has really made it all about us. 


Everything He has done in the world has been about us. 

If it had been about Him, He would not have died an excruciating death for us or focused all of His divine attention on us, full knowing that His sacrifice and blessings would never truly be appreciated.

Are these the actions of a self-serving, glory-hog? It should be about Him, but He chooses to make it about us, to lay aside all the things that are His by right, in order to receive back almost nothing—for almost nothing is all that we can give. Can we not see that He is the most self-sacrificing, glory-sharer in the universe?

For that, He truly deserves the highest glory.