Therefore, since we have been justified through faith,
we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have gained access by faith
into this grace in which we now stand.
And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.
Romans 5:1-2
Our Write the WORD verses this month all focus on the word HOPE. (If you haven’t done so yet, please visit this page to download your free bookmark with April’s verses, as well as the optional S.O.A.P. study pages, and start writing the WORD with us each day.)
Hope seemed the perfect theme for the days that follow Easter. The intrinsic nature of hope has us looking into the future, expecting something different, something preferred, something better than the place where we stand today.
For the follower of Christ, our hope is for eternity and it is all wrapped up in the person of Jesus Christ. Our identity in Him makes our hope not just wishful thinking, but a confident reality.
When Paul sanctions boasting—a verb normally considered “off limits” for a Christ-follower—we are understandably intrigued. Mr. Webster defines boasting as expressing excessive pride … clearly unacceptable if the focus is on self (e.g., boasting about our wealth, status, or personal accomplishments, or boasting in the hope of getting noticed and awarded a big bonus at work).
When our hope extends beyond the temporal and into eternity, we not only hope in the glory of God, but we can boast in it! This kind of boasting is simply bragging on God. And when we brag on God, we shine the spotlight on Him. We make much of Him.
How would you define the glory of God? I recall asking God during my quiet time, What is your glory? I was reminded of Exodus 33:18-23 where Moses asked to see God’s glory. He was only permitted to see God as He passed by:
When my glory passes by,
I will put you in a cleft in the rock and
cover you with my hand until I have passed by.
Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back;
but my face must not be seen.
Our earthly eyes would perhaps be overloaded by the manifestation of His glory. Perhaps that’s part of the reason the fullness of God’s glory is reserved for heaven.
But we also know that God proclaimed in Isaiah 43:7 that He created us for His glory. Our purpose in life is to allow God to be seen through us … to put Him on display.
What words come to mind when you try to describe God? I’ll start a list, and you feel free to add your own adjectives, too:
- Loving
- Powerful
- Compassionate
- Great
- Good
- Strong
- Kind
- Mighty
- Gentle
- Wise
- Holy
Many of those seem almost contradictory, yet they are all true of God. He is the absolute magnificent complete epitome of all those words and many more. The essence of who He is, is who He is. He said about Himself, “I am who I am.” And His glory is seen when all of who He is is on display.
To see His glory is to see Him.
We see little pieces of Him now. When fellow believers walk in the Spirit, we celebrate the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control that is exhibited—and what we really celebrate is the reflection of God’s glory.
When we ourselves are in alignment with Him and have that sense of living to please Him, we bring Him glory and it brings a satisfaction that nothing else in this world can deliver. It’s what we were made for. It’s our spiritual sweet spot.
We get a little piece of it now. We are all like Moses just getting a glimpse as God is seen here and there, but what we really hope for—and boast in—is the glory of God. That’s what heaven will be.
Are you bragging today on God and the confident hope in seeing His glory?
Our in-person ladies’ Bible study wrapped up our time in Galatians this week. Galatians 6:11 tells us Paul took the pen in his own hand and wrote with big letters. Whether due to poor eyesight, emphasis, making it personal—or all of the above—the Gospel message is clear to the end. We invite you to listen to this week’s teaching video as Laura does a “fly over” to review some of the BIG lessons learned from Paul’s letter to the Galatians.
