Until we know the glory of God—His beauty, goodness, and truth impacting us soul and body, day by day—we will not be able to show that glory to the watching world. This is our charge in these last days.

For the earth will be filled
With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD,
As the waters cover the sea.
Habakkuk 2:14

The Glory of God

The glory of God in every aspect of life is the end toward which the Kingdom economy is unfolding in these last days. All believers are called to embrace this agenda and way of life (1 Thess. 2.12). We must learn to do everything, down to the smallest and most routine daily activities, to glorify God and make Him known (1 Cor. 10.31).

To be sure, that end will not be fully realized until God Himself brings it in with the advent of the new heavens and new earth. Only then will the earth and all creation be overflowed and filled with the life-giving Spirit of Christ, and the Sun of Righteousness will be risen with full healing in His wings for everything He has made. Believers long for this day, and, in many respects, the anticipation of this day affects their choices and actions here and now (2 Pet. 3.10-14).

Toward that day, Christians, to whom the stewardship of the Kingdom economy has been entrusted, meet with God in the glory of His Presence and Word, there to be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ, so that we might bring more of the reality of Jesus into our world (2 Cor. 3.12-18).

There is not a facet of our lives, not an interest or occupation, not a nook or cranny of the cosmos, where God does not intend that His glory should shine forth and be known. Indeed, even now He is showing His glory in created things, and even in much of the culture that human beings make to meet their own needs (Ps. 19.1-4; Ps. 68.18). God is manifesting His glory; it is there to be noted and pondered. The task of those entrusted with the Kingdom economy is to serve as docents of the glory of God, bringing His glory to light and making Him known for all to see in these last days.

But what does that entail?

Making God’s Glory Known

The glory of God is the manifestation of God’s Presence, glimpsed through created things, as they yield to, refract, and amplify His beauty, goodness, and truth through their own unique features and functions. All creation proclaims the glory of God. Every human being, by virtue of being an image-bearer of God, has an innate sense of beauty, goodness, and truth. That’s not to say that human beings agree on these matters, just that they all have a sense of them. The ultimate standard of true beauty, true goodness, and true truth is God Himself, especially as revealed in our Lord Jesus Christ (Heb. 1.1-3). He is all beauty, goodness, and truth, and He can make His character and Presence known through the creation and culture with which we are surrounded all day long.

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