...to the GLORY of God

January 10, 2010
Have you ever counted the number of crosses in your home? I've never really thought about it before now, but they can be found all over, including around my neck at the moment. Since before Christmas, I've been pondering the life of Mary. The type of person she must have been. With pregnancy fresh in my mind, I wonder what kind of pregnancy did she have? Was she sick often? Did Jesus lay on her sciatic nerve like my child insisted on doing, causing her to drop to her knees randomly in pain? Was this young teenager scared to death, far far from her mother, knowing any day that she'd go into labor with no idea where? Or was she calm? I can't imagine being a person completely full of peace but not having at least a little bit of pre-labor anxiety. Or at least maybe snapping here and there at poor Joseph, who was probably scared to death as well.
I went to Passion last weekend, and though it wasn't as life changing as when I was younger and needed more of a spiritual high now and then, there were a lot of amazing messages that really opened my eyes. One of these was "Is God an egomaniac?" by John Piper. I don't care who you are, if John Piper doesn't make you sit up straighter in your chair when he speaks then we've got to talk. He opened our eyes to the glory of God. For so long, I thought I did things because I loved God, He loved me, I was a good kid, and so on. I never thought about the fact that He's God, and Jesus came and died and rose again, not only because He loved us, but to Glorify the Father. We talked about the verse we all say so easily, "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord." Phillipians 2:10-11. I normally said it in response to an unbeliever standing their ground and I usually started it with, "yeah? WELL, ...." Did you know that's not the end of the verse? you probably did, but I had no idea. "and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, TO THE GLORY OF GOD THE FATHER." What in my life am I doing to glorify the Father? I have crosses all over my home, and somehow have become known as the person you give things like cross necklaces to. Not that that's wrong. and I LOVE my necklace, but I'm constantly "outwardly" showing my faith through a symbol. What am I DOING to outwardly show my faith. Jesus said that people would know we belong to Him by the way we treat each other.
So, young girl. Scared to death. Long trip. And you know that donkey ride was making those braxton hicks just unbearable. But, she was glorifying the Father. Joseph, seriously upset at the idea that he'd probably be the one to deliver his wife's child, and remember, they haven't even been intimate yet. Tired. Dusty. Glorifying the Father. The Bible is full of stories of His glory and I think it's high time I write my own. New Year's Resolution?