This is another in a series of excerpts from What Every Christian Should Know About the Return of Jesus, released by High Street Press and available at Amazon.com. 

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The Bible speaks of at least four phases of glory for Christians: glory now, glory in death, glory in resurrection, and glory in the restoration of the cosmos. We explore the first two in this column, and the final two in future columns.

Glory now

It’s our Christian duty to glorify God. As we honor the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for their divine attributes and redemptive work, we replicate God’s glory in our thoughts, words, and deeds. 

This requires more than mere reflection. Consider how the moon, which generates no light, reflects the brilliance of the sun. In a similar way, all of God’s creation declares his glory, including his eternal power and divine nature (Ps. 19:1; Rom. 1:20). 

But followers of Jesus have something more: the Shekinah glory residing in our human spirits; thus, we radiate God’s eternal light from within. This should lead us to shine in such a way that others see our good works and give glory to our Father in heaven (Matt. 5:16).

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