Glorifying God again

… for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. — Romans 3:23-24

It’s not hard to admit that we are sinners. But what does it mean, and how can we get out of that predicament? First of all, it means that we are unable to become fully human as God intended. You see, God created man to reflect His image, and this is what glorifies Him. We have fallen short of that, so now, on our own, in our sinful state, we cannot reflect God at all. It’s a hopeless situation, because, even if we try, we cannot fulfill God’s purpose for us. We end up dishonoring God by what we think, say or do. We are doomed to fail as divine image bearers!

But God did something really extraordinary. He did what none of us can do for ourselves or for anybody else. He redeemed us! He made us right again with Himself through His Son Jesus. He dealt with sin once and for all, so that now, in and through Christ, we can begin to glorify God by becoming fully human again. We are now being restored in Him by the power of His Holy Spirit, and slowly — yes, slowly — we can see God’s image being formed in us! It’s a day by day restoration project! What an exciting adventure we have in Christ! So grow deep in Him. Begin today. Believe in His word. Accept it with all your heart and live according to His will. This is how you will begin to see God’s image, which is to His glory, revealed in your life. Shalom! (PB)