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The word "glory" comes from the Greek word doxa , which meant "expectation" but later came to mean "fame" or "high reputation." We use the word to speak of someone of excellent reputation. When we speak of the glory of God, we are actually acknowledging God's reputation, and most especially, Jesus' reputation. When we begin to acknowledge our dependence on God, we begin on a path toward that glory. As we begin that path we must consider Jesus' glory, His reputation.
Jesus' reputation was one of not always following the conventional rules, especially the rules of purity and cleanliness. When Jesus healed the unclean and the sick on the Sabbath, He broke the rule against working on the Sabbath. The worst of His reputation was that He ate with unclean people, with known sinners such as tax collectors! His reputation, therefore, in the eyes of His critics was that He was probably a sinner himself. He was executed for having claimed to be a king. He was humiliated, even in death. Jesus spoke of serving and being a servant, of being identified with the lowest of society and doing what the lowest did. This was not "glory" as the people of His day conceived of it! It also isn't glory as our modern society conceives of it.
The Christian way of life, the Christian path to glory, is not conventional. Our glory is gained the same way Jesus gained His. We serve. In fact, we serve sacrificially. We acknowledge our dependence on God and live with an appreciation for being dependent. When we say, "Give God the glory," we say it because that is where it belongs. If we are humble enough to acknowledge this dependence, we will find our worth in God.
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