“But they had heard only, That he which
persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he
destroyed. And they glorified God in me.”-Galatians
1: 23 & 24
It has been said before, that reputation is what you’re perceived to be, and your character is what
you really are. One would hope, that
his/her reputation and character is always positive, and that they always
coincide; but this may not always be the case.
Certainly not for Paul the Apostle, he had his difficulties with regards
to his reputation catching up to his character.
However, this was no matter, because the end result is what is most
important; which was “they glorified God
in me.” You may have a fantastic
reputation, admirable character, and reflect all the desirable qualities that
the world would have, but if your life doesn’t glorify God, in the end it will
profit little. The whole of humanity is meant
for one purpose, to glorify God.
The book of Genesis, chapter one, tells us that God created:
land and sea, space and sky, plants and animals; then he created man to inhabit
his creation and he desired that God himself would inhabit mankind. All his creation with the exception of mankind
must glorify his name, there is no choice.
For this reason, we bring Him the most glory, because we have free
choice, to live for ourselves or to live for Him. You can choose to glorify yourself, or you
can glorify God. The sun will rise over
the Atlantic each morning to bring light to the earth and people will be in awe
of its beauty. The blue ski and misty mountains
will testify to the magnificence and might of the Almighty. The vastness and size of space will promote
the awesome power of the Alpha and Omega, but in all this; there is no choice
or free will. There is only
creation. We are the inhabitants of his
creation and creation itself but we are different in that we can choose to deny
God. We can choose to deny his grace,
his mercy, his power; we can even choose to deny his existence. We have this choice while here on Earth,
largely without punishment or retribution (however once we die we face
judgment). It was gifted to us just the
same as the gift of life. The sun cannot
choose to shine, nor the tide to change, even the angels are subject to his
authority, but God in his grace and mercy gave us choice, and loved us enough
to subject himself to ridicule and mocking from the very creation which he made
out of dust. He wanted us to experience
holiness, he wanted us to know Him, and he wanted this so bad that he willing
gave his only Son so that we might find redemption and true life. Think back, what brought you to Christ? What convinced you that you could be saved? Was it pictures of the Rocky Mountains or a
visit to the Grand Canyon? Perhaps, but
far more likely it was the love of a Christian brother, it was the righteous
life lived by a Parent or Grandparent.
It was the preaching (and living) of the cross by a pastor or
layman. They glorified God within
themselves and that glory drew you, it drew me; they shined the light of Jesus
in their life and it attracted us; it made you want to serve God and glorify
Him over yourself. It drew you to do His
will over your own. God was glorified within
them. Saul the Jew had the reputation
and character of a man who persecuted the Christian church. He believed in what he was doing, and it did
a lot for him; but it did not glorify God.
We may believe in what we are doing, and we may have a reputation and
character that is acceptable, maybe even exalted; but that is not the judgment,
rather it’s, do you glorify God? Does
your life exalt Christ?
The power of God through Jesus can dramatically change your
life. You may have bad character and a
bad reputation, but that matters little to Him.
If God can command the oceans, he can change your life. If God can move the mountains, he can change
your life. If God can set the sun in the
sky, he can change your life. These
things have to obey him, but you must choose to obey him, and in choosing you
can be a vessel unto honor, and your
reputation and character can be changed by the power of the Holy Spirit so that
one day you can say: “they glorified God
in me.” Is there a better testimony
to leave?
