Luke 17:11-19 “Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ So when He saw them, He said to them, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’ And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, ‘Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?’ And He said to him, ‘Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.’” The Samaritan that was healed of his leprosy praised and glorified God for his healing.
Our God is glorious. The prophet Isaiah saw the glory of God. Isaiah 6:1-3 “In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!’” Psalms 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork.” Psalms 72:18-19 “Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who only does wondrous things! And blessed be His glorious name forever! And let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen.” Everything about God is glorious. Even though God has great glory, He wants us, His creation, to glorify Him.
We give glory to God when we praise and worship Him. In the story above, the healed leper glorified God when he returned to Jesus, gave thanks for his healing, and praised God. We also should continually praise and glorify God because of His marvelous creation and His great love and mercy towards us. Psalms 34:1-3 “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.” Hebrews 13:15-16 “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”
As His redeemed children and faithful disciples of Jesus, the lives that we live glorify God. The apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 1:9-11 “And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” When our lives are filled with love, with the things that are excellent, and with the fruits of righteousness, we glorify God. In other words, when we live the kind of lives that He wants us to live, He is glorified. We also glorify God when we bear much fruit. Jesus said in John 15:8 “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.”
As we live our lives, we must make decisions on the things we say and the things we do. Sometimes there is a right versus wrong decision. Is something sinful? We must choose the right, because that glorifies God. The apostle Paul used the example of avoiding sexual immorality. 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 “Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” We should avoid using our bodies for sin and instead glorify God in our bodies and in our spirits because we belong to God.
Sometimes the decisions we make are not a matter of right and wrong in that there is no express command or prohibition. In such cases, we must also consider the influence we have over others. Might we lead others in a dangerous pathway or might we give offense by our actions? The apostle Paul encourages us to not give offense in what we allow but instead make the choice that would glorify God. 1 Corinthians 10:31-33 “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God, just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.” Do all to the glory of God.
We should conduct our lives so that others will glorify God because they see how we live our lives. 1 Peter 2:11-12 “Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.” Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” Our good works may cause others to glorify God.
I encourage you to glorify God in your praise and worship of Him. I encourage you to also live a life that brings glory to God.