Others Glorify God Because of You

(Google Images: Hooked On The Book.com)

     In the first chapter of Galatians, Paul speaks on his journey through the religion and life of Judaism and the change that happened inside of his own heart. Paul speaks on the fact that one of his sole purposes was to destroy the church and what God was trying to accomplish while he was a follower of Judaism. This region Paul is coming into in Galatians was only visited by Paul a few times and they only knew him of his past reputation.  That is a minor snippet of the backstory but I want to focus on just one verse and that is Galatians 1:24. In this verse, Paul makes a statement about what people think of him now that he is entering back into this region as a new man of God. This is the verse:

"and they glorified God because of me." (ESV)

What does he mean there?

Paul is entering into this environment as a new man and that change is so evident from the old Paul of Judaism that people can see it in him. They can actually see and understand the message Paul is portraying. Paul's message and overall body language and demeanor is so strong and evident, and his love for God so noticeable, that it actually changes people.

Let me ask you this uncomfortable question that I receive personal conviction on.

Does your love of God change people? Does your light make people glorify God?

I mean, the "city on a hill" verse in Matthew is true. We want our light to shine to others so they can see Jesus but does our light actually make people glorify God? Paul's heart transition and transformation made people glorify God! Another amazing fact is that this group has seen Paul less than 5 times in their life and on this time his heart change makes them glorify God? Do you make your coworker that you see every day glorify God because of your love for Him?

Boom. That hit me hard. You?

This is such a personal conviction of mine because I think about what kind of manager I am. Yeah, I don't cuss like the rest of them. Yeah, I try to be kind and considerate to all, but do I go to work and actually cause people to glorify God because of the fact that I am just radiating His already existing Spirit inside of me? Absolutely not.

Think about this with me. We need to find our strengths, and let God take care of our weaknesses (an upcoming post) and let His Spirit take us over and show others what He looks like. I want others around me, and you do too, to say that not only is it evident that he has Jesus in Him, but his demeanor and attitude about life, work, and everything else makes me want to glorify God just because of his life! I have that goal and I charge you to make it yours too.