To Him Be the Glory Forever!

For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.

Romans 11:36

When I was a little child—well not really, but a teenager eager to know the Lord better—I memorized all 107 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism* precepts. To this day I remember two of them: #1, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” And indeed, “to glorify God and enjoy Him forever” is the entire thrust of Scripture, you could even say of life.

Which brings me to that other precept of the Westminster Shorter Catechism that I remember: #4, “God is Spirit, infinite, eternal, unchangeable, in His being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth.” Think how the glory of God is encapsulated in these words. Think how knowing that glory would consume you with reverence.

This year my girlfriends and I made bracelets with beads representing the first letters of a favorite Scripture. Mine goes like this: FFHATHATHAATTHBTGF—R1136. To me, Romans 11:36 encapsulates that infinite, eternal, unchangeable nature of God’s being.

For from him: He is the source of all things

For through him: He is the power that sustains all things He’s created

For to him are all things: God works in all things for His glory**

Paul’s words to the Colossians tie a neat bow on Christ’s glory:

We look at this Son and see the God who cannot be seen.

We look at this Son and see God’s original purpose in everything created.

For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible…

—everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him.

He was there before any of it came into existence

and holds it all together right up to this moment.

He was supreme in the beginning…he is supreme in the end.

—Colossians 1:15-20, MSG

All that glory is not to be hidden. There is no doubt in my mind that we are to shine God’s glory out to the world we encounter: "man’s chief end”! And that is the way we will get to enjoy Him now, and forever! Amen!

Nancy P

All Scripture quotations are from the NIV Translation 1973, 1978, 1984, unless otherwise noted

*Westminster Shorter Catechism, 1647

**Life Application Bible NIV, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, Tyndale House Publishers, p.2049