Quick Word: Bringing Ordinary Glory

You can catch my quick word every Tuesday morning, just after six, on New Zealand's Rhema

When you think about people who bring God glory, who do you think of?  Mother Teresa, glorifying God on her knees with the poor and dying?  Billy Graham, glorifying God in a voice loud and clear and proclaiming?  Maybe you think of Michael Jones, glorifying God in church on Sunday as his teammates took to the field instead. All of these people are good examples, but do you ever think of yourself?  Your neighbour in the pew on Sunday?  Your husband and friends? 

Sometimes I think that it’s the job of the extraordinary people to bring glory to God – the ones who already have the world’s attention, the positions of influence, the role of missionary or preacher.  But I started thinking about it the other day and realised that if there are 2 billion Christians in the world there are probably only a thousand at a time who have extraordinary positions of influence.  Maybe another million serve him in full time ministry, but what of the rest of us; what of me?  We live ordinary lives – with our families and friends, in ordinary suburbs in our ordinary countries.  Do we have to do something amazing to be able to turn to God and say ‘that’s for your glory God!’?

In John chapter 17 Jesus says “I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” (John 17 v 4).  The work you gave me to do.  Of course, Jesus was the most extraordinary man of us all, but he didn’t bring God glory by being extraordinary as such.  He brought God glory by being exactly who he was, where he was. The work he gave him to do.

I live a pretty ordinary life, maybe you do too, but it counts.  We bring glory to God by completing the work he gives us each day – raising our children well, loving faithfulness to our partners, caring and compassion towards our friends, honesty in our workplaces, praising worship to God.  He doesn’t want or even need me to be a Mother Teresa, a Billy Graham or a Michael Jones.  He wants me to do my work.  Maybe one day that will be something out of the ordinary, but what I do today counts just as much.  What I do today can bring glory to God.  And so can what you do.