Glory of God 5.21.23
You don’t have to spend much time reading the Bible, or being in church, to God’s glory mentioned. In fact, we often use the word. In a recent Wednesday night Bible study, with Steve Russert, the discussion was focused around what that really means. It’s a word we use, but do we fully understand it? Probably not. We celebrate God’s glory, and know that the chief purpose of our lives is to glorify god and enjoy Him forever. But what is glory?
A devotional published years ago by “The High Calling” brings some insight into this topic. The most common word translated “glory” is kahod” in Hebrew. Interestingly, this word is derived from a root with the basic meaning of “heavy.” From this root came among other things, a word meaning rich. Speakers of ancient Hebrew would refer to a rich person as “heavy in wealth.” An extension of the literal sense of this word included being loaded with power, reputation or honor. It’s from that word we derive the English word – “glory.”
God’s glory is God’s weightiness in wonderful qualities such as might, beauty, goodness, power, justice and honor. When it comes to these characteristic God them in superabundance! So, when we think of God’s glory, we should remember that god has all good things in a greater (weightier, or more heavy) quantity and quality than we can ever imagine. His glory is not dependent on anyone or anything else. God’s glory reflects His essential nature.