“Glory” is the shining forth of God in all His many perfections. Fittingly, God’s first command on the first day of the Creation week was “Let there be light”. Later, on the sixth day, God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness.” Just as with Adam and Eve, God created each of us to uniquely shine forth His glory, revealing aspects of His character.
Genesis 1
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.
26a Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…”
27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
God’s glory has been evident throughout the miraculous history of Israel. In the wilderness, He led the people with a cloud of glory in the daytime and a light of fire at night:
Psalm 78
13 He divided the sea and caused them to pass through;
And He made the waters stand up like a heap.
14 In the daytime also He led them with the cloud,
And all the night with a light of fire.
15 He split the rocks in the wilderness,
And gave them drink in abundance like the depths.
16 He also brought streams out of the rock,
And caused waters to run down like rivers.
Centuries later, when Solomon dedicated the temple, the light of God’s glory was so bright that the priests could not enter the temple. The people bowed their faces to the ground and worshiped the Lord.
2 Chronicles 7
1 When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. 2 And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house. 3 When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the Lord on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the Lord, saying:
“For He is good, for His mercy endures forever.”
For every believer, the Lord is both our light and our salvation, as David declares in Psalm 27:1: “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”
To those who have ears to hear, His word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path, shining ever brighter day by day:
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105)
“But the path of the just is like the shining sun,
That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.” (Proverbs 4:18)
His glory shines forth in and through the lives of His people, renewing their strength day by day:
Isaiah 40
5 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
31 But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
John’s gospel begins by describing Jesus (Yeshua) as the Word of God made flesh, the true light giving light to every person coming into the world.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
In John 8:12 Jesus declares, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
He empowers his followers to also be a light to the world bringing glory to our Father in heaven:
Matthew 5
14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
His light and glory are revealed in His love, as Paul declares in 2 Cor. 4:6:
For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
With the Lord there is true liberty and transformation “from glory to glory”.
2 Corinthians 3
17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.
John declares in 1 John 1:7, “… if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
Finally, 1 Peter 2:9 promises, “But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light”.
David Krause, dhkrause@neteze.com, https://compellinglove.net/
Compelling Love 
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