Glorify by death

We glory God by the way we die

I’ve talked about how we glorify God quite naturally just by being who God created us to be, doing what God created us to do, and obeying His words in our daily lives. We can glorify God without a lot of pomp and foofaraw because worshiping God is natural for all people and even more natural for Christians. It’s our sin (and ignorance perpetuated by sinful and ignorant leaders) which make worship seem too lofty for mere mortals.

Glorify Him by dying for Him

 The idea of mortality brings me to my final edition in this unit of devotionals. Christians can glorify God by their deaths. Naturally, we assume that those who die a martyr’s death in the name of Jesus glorify Him:

Now this He said, signifying by what kind of death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me!” (John 21:19, NASB)

John was writing about one of the final encounters he has with Jesus. Actually, John was eavesdropping on a conversation between Jesus and Peter. John understood that Jesus spoke of Peter’s death as a martyr. He associates this future event as a way of glorifying God since Peter faced death voluntarily and never renounced Jesus despite the cruelty of his death (upside-down on a cross). Peter displayed the physical courage he claimed often in the Gospel books but lacked the opportunity to demonstrate. God needed Peter alive to spread the gospel message. Peter’s death also demonstrated his unshakable faith.

Glorify Him by dying with Him

My father demonstrated another example of courage and faith when he died. He contracted lung cancer at the age of 73 and died in less than a year after diagnosis. My mother and father both agreed that they would fight the cancer, but not blame God for taking my Dad’s life a few years earlier that he had anticipated. Several of my parents siblings were still alive at the time. My parents hoped that my Dad’s attitude of acceptance of God’s pronouncement would seal his confession of the Christian faith which had remained unwavering throughout his life.

I cannot point to a verse to prove it, but I believe God is glorified when we accept both good and evil from His hand (Job 1:20-22; 2:9-10). At first, Job worships God. The second round hurt too much to worship God, but Job’s wife recognized Job’s integrity through his silence. Oh, that’s two verses right there. I guess I kinda can prove God derives glory from how we accept hardships and sufferings.

At the end, God sent an angel to take my father to heaven. My sister-in-law heard the voice of the angel through a nanny microphone speaking my Dad’s name – Tony. She dismissed it at the time and fell asleep. Tony followed the angel about an hour later.

Glorify Him naturally

You see, worshiping God is so very easy to do when we dedicate ourselves to do His will. It doesn’t require that we go to seminary, become ordained or take a salary from a church. I’ve done all those things. They don’t make me any holier than you. Worship is just as easy, free and natural for all of us.

Don’t make the mistake of thinking that God accepts worship from his enemies who come to Him in deceit. He knows the difference between those who worship him from genuine motives and those who use worship as leverage against God or His followers on earth. It’s those people who think that worship is some big pretense or show that they must perform for God. They are the ones who elevate worship above the simple things we say and do because they are acting with all the cleverness they can muster.

For real Christians, it just takes a touch to worship God in spirit and truth. We do it all the time as we serve Him, choose Him and speak to Him. He gains no glory when we are “in business for ourselves”, but when we seek Him first and His kingdom’s business, we worship Him naturally.