What Does it Mean to “Glorify” God?
At times, my family has struggled to have consistent family devotions. I’m sure there are several reasons for this, but lately we have had great success using Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing by Sally Lloyd-Jones, illustrated by Jago. Here is one of my favorite entries from the book. In it, Lloyd-Jones explains what it means to glorify God.
Recently at church, we had a dedication service for several children, including our son Judah. Our church gave us the children’s devotional book Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing by Sally Lloyd-Jones, illustrated by Jago. We’ve not completed it yet, but just like The Jesus Storybook Bible—which is also by Lloyd-Jones and Jago—it’s fantastic. (I reviewed the Jesus Storybook Bible here.)
At times, my family has struggled to have consistent family devotions. There are several reasons for this, I’m sure. In part, our lives are constantly changing—new kids coming and older kids getting older. Also, we’ve struggled because I’ve been more ambitious than was probably sustainable. This led to good spurts but not consistency.
But whatever the reasons were, since we were given this book, we’ve had good success. About three or four times a week, I read one of the short devotionals during dinner. I try to make the reading as interactive as possible, which isn’t hard because the material lends itself to discussion, and . . . well . . . I have five very “active” kids.
Below is one of my favorite entries so far. It answers the questions “what does it mean to glorify God?” and “why does God even ‘need’ us to glorify him at all?” Obviously, the answers to these questions could get deep fast, but Lloyd-Jones has a way of making the complex simple—for children and adults.
After I read this one, I asked my kids questions like, “What does it mean to glorify basketball?” “And what does it mean to glorify a book . . . and a friend . . . and a sunset?”
Then, when I came back to the question of what it means to glorify God, which according to Lloyd-Jones, means “to make much of Him,” my kids understood. And my heart sang.
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GLORIFY!
God tells us to glorify him. “Glorify” means to “make a big deal of.” When someone makes a big deal of you, it fills up your heart with joy.
But why does God need us to make a big deal of him? Why does he need us to get joy?
He doesn’t. In the beginning God the Father and Jesus, his Son, together with the Holy Spirit, were already there—a loving family, glorifying each other in this wonderful Dance of Joy.
No. God didn’t create us so he could get joy—he already had it.
He created us so that he could share it.
He knows it’s the thing your heart most needs to be happy. When God says, “Glorify me!”, he’s really saying, “Be filled with Joy!”
He’s inviting us into his Forever Happiness.
[Photo by Jasper Boer / Unsplash]
ALSO BY SALLY LLOYD-JONES
THE JESUS STORYBOOK BIBLE by Sally Lloyd-Jones (FAN AND FLAME Book Reviews)
A book review of The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones . . . well, it’s not really a book review; it’s probably better, but you’ll see that as you read.
Sally Lloyd-Jones (Author), Jago (Illustrator). The Jesus Storybook Bible: Every Story Whispers His Name. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2007. 352 pp. $17.99.
My children and I love Disney-Pixar movies. We’re not alone. Probably half a billion people across the world feel the same.
The brilliance of the these movies—movies such as Toy Story (which I know is now 20 years old) or more recently Up (2009), or even more recently, Big Hero 6 (2014)—is the way the producers craft the story to engage both children and adults without alienating one or the other.
The Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones has this same brilliance. Whether you have been a Christian for many years or you are just being acquainted with the faith, it would be a great resource for you. Oh, the children you know will love it, too.
The rest of this “book review” is not really a review at all. It’s a modified version of an email I recently wrote to a friend. Let’s call her Sarah.
Backstory: My wife and I met Sarah a few months ago. We had a great conversation with her about the Bible. As the conversation went on, we realized that Sarah didn’t really know much about Christianity, and what she did know—as is true of so many people I meet—was all wrong.
Sarah had assumed the Bible was, as Lloyd-Jones writes, “a book of rules, telling you what you should and shouldn’t do.” So, I asked Sarah if we could send her a book to help her get a better sense of what the Bible is really about.
She said, “Sure.”
But before the book arrived, I sent Sarah the below email to explain why I would send a children’s Bible to an educated, non-Christian adult.
* * *
Sarah,
Thanks for emailing! Apparently, I’m slow at responding. Sorry.
Okay, so here’s the deal on the book we were talking about. I just ordered it, and it should get to you in a day or two. However, let me give you a heads up so that you are not confused when it arrives. I’m sending you a children’s Bible. Yes, you read that correctly. It even has tons of pictures!
I hope you chuckle at that and are not offended. I know you are very intelligent and educated. The children’s Bible I’m sending, though, is actually not your typical Bible for kiddos. It’s actually very, very good, and it’s very well written. In fact, I have used it many times with adults at my church and they have appreciated it each time. (It’s also, by the way, the Bible we read as a family, and even though I’m a pastor and very familiar with the Bible, I often get a lot out of it, too.)
Anyway, the main reason I’m sending this book is because it’s the best resource I know for capturing the overarching narrative of the actual Bible, namely, a story about a rescue mission to broken people, not mainly a collection of stories designed to teach morals. There is a huge difference.
One of the phrases that the author (Sally Lloyd-Jones) uses repeatedly to describe God’s love is, “Never Stopping, Never Giving Up, Unbreaking, Always and Forever Love.” I think that’s a pretty good description of one of the main themes of the real Bible.
As you and I discussed in person, the Bible is a BIG book, and it tends to overwhelm most people, at least at first. Reading this could be a helpful way to investigate Christianity in a few hours without having to slog through the whole Bible—of course, I’m a proponent of reading the Bible straight up, 100-proof style . . . but maybe not yet. Or maybe next? If so, I can help start you on that process, as well.
Again, I hope you chuckle and are not offended with my selection. Thanks for emailing. Now I’m back to work.
Thanks,
Benjamin
Benjamin Vrbicek | Teaching Pastor
Community Evangelical Free Church