Advent Reflections
I tend to not get too serious about Christmas until a week or so beforehand; I'm behind on Christmas cards and it's only two days! But I've had a change of plans, due to my mother's illness, so we'll see what happens. She had a heart attack, not a deep one but still a heart attack, and life will be a little different from now on. She, like me, doesn't like to be fussed over and likes being left alone, but it doesn't work that way after a heart attack.
It's turned quite cold here, 14 degrees this morning, which I realize is not much compared to what those in Minnesota and Michigan face.
I read a wonderful article in the Biblical Illustrator, a magazine put out by LifeWay for Bible teachers in the SBC. It is about the glory of God. The phrase "Give God the glory" always puzzled me. As this article points out, glory is something God has; we can't give Him "glory," which essentially means weight and worthiness, brightness and splendor, presence and magnificence. To quote:
"A number of significant theological observations deserve attention at this point. First, the 'glory of God' is an essential attribute of the divine nature, not a quality conferred upon God by His creation. While we often speak of 'giving' God glory, the biblical writers would have understood that, as a part of God's creation we can, at best only 'acknowledge' his glory. . . . The biblical testimony is clear. The role of creation, including that of humankind, is one of bearing witness to the magnitude of God's glory; but creation itself contributes nothing that adds to or enhances God's glory. . . . Second, anything we know about God's glory is mediated through the grace of divine self-disclosure; we experience the glory of God as God chooses to reveal Himself to us. . . Third, while the concept of God's glory speaks to us of divine grace and self-disclosure, it also speaks of the radical otherness of God. To encounter the glory of God is to be overcome with awe, dread, and fear." (pps. 77-78).
John 1:14: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
I was struck by this piece for a number of reasons (not the least of which is that a Southern Baptist was freely quoting Emil Brunner and John Calvin, which he of course should. SB tend to overlook their roots and the contribution of other denominations, as if Christianity started in the 20th century in Texas). Our constant emphasis on "Give God the glory" is a symptom of our man-centered paradigm. We Christians living in 2008 simply fail to have a God-centered paradigm, or framework, for seeing the world. It's all out of whack, like when one of my contact lenses falls out--I'm seeing fine with one eye and horribly with the other, a disaster when driving (and I have enough trouble driving on the interstate). If we give God the glory, that means He's dependent on us for something. All we can do is get in the right place, theologically speaking, where a little part of God's glory is accessible to us and we can acknowledge it.
It's turned quite cold here, 14 degrees this morning, which I realize is not much compared to what those in Minnesota and Michigan face.
I read a wonderful article in the Biblical Illustrator, a magazine put out by LifeWay for Bible teachers in the SBC. It is about the glory of God. The phrase "Give God the glory" always puzzled me. As this article points out, glory is something God has; we can't give Him "glory," which essentially means weight and worthiness, brightness and splendor, presence and magnificence. To quote:
"A number of significant theological observations deserve attention at this point. First, the 'glory of God' is an essential attribute of the divine nature, not a quality conferred upon God by His creation. While we often speak of 'giving' God glory, the biblical writers would have understood that, as a part of God's creation we can, at best only 'acknowledge' his glory. . . . The biblical testimony is clear. The role of creation, including that of humankind, is one of bearing witness to the magnitude of God's glory; but creation itself contributes nothing that adds to or enhances God's glory. . . . Second, anything we know about God's glory is mediated through the grace of divine self-disclosure; we experience the glory of God as God chooses to reveal Himself to us. . . Third, while the concept of God's glory speaks to us of divine grace and self-disclosure, it also speaks of the radical otherness of God. To encounter the glory of God is to be overcome with awe, dread, and fear." (pps. 77-78).
John 1:14: "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
I was struck by this piece for a number of reasons (not the least of which is that a Southern Baptist was freely quoting Emil Brunner and John Calvin, which he of course should. SB tend to overlook their roots and the contribution of other denominations, as if Christianity started in the 20th century in Texas). Our constant emphasis on "Give God the glory" is a symptom of our man-centered paradigm. We Christians living in 2008 simply fail to have a God-centered paradigm, or framework, for seeing the world. It's all out of whack, like when one of my contact lenses falls out--I'm seeing fine with one eye and horribly with the other, a disaster when driving (and I have enough trouble driving on the interstate). If we give God the glory, that means He's dependent on us for something. All we can do is get in the right place, theologically speaking, where a little part of God's glory is accessible to us and we can acknowledge it.
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