Going to Glory

Where is this world going? What is this world coming to? These questions issue from exasperated hearts which find fewer and fewer things to celebrate—sentiments echoed by the religious and irreverent alike. Chaos and calamity only appear to escalate in our day. Wars and rumors of wars proliferate. Politics deeply divide. Pandemics and pandemonium have set in motion even more changes which have reverberated through everything familiar and fun. Plexiglass dividers between customer and cashier, whether erected in response to COVID or smash-and-grabs, have not all been taken down. Who would argue that flying is more fun today than before September 11th? Wildfires have gobbled up generational hunting grounds or secret fishing holes, not to mention lives, homes, and dreams. If you are a Californian 22 or older, you have lived through 18 of the top 20 largest fires in California history including the Park Fire (4th largest) which continues to scorch our beloved back yard, in addition to the Camp Fire, California's deadliest and most destructive fire to date.

Countless tragedies and "triggers" could be added to the list which the news demands to feed you until you are septic from the inside out. I'll add just two more from the headlines this week: Antarctica was 50 degrees warmer than normal for winter at the south pole (though still sub zero!) and Taylor Swift releases her most profane record yet, apparently with more swears in one song than in Metallica's complete discography. (I do not recommend either.) To further illustrate the slide, Metallica was subculture when I grew up, subversive and taboo (to every Ridge Runner's delight and Sunday School teacher's disdain). Taylor Swift, on the other hand, is pop's polestar, reaching dads and daughters alike.

Family entertainment has shifted. The definition of marriage has changed. There are more than two boxes for sex on applications. And (no, this is not political or liberal!) glaciers have shrunk in my lifetime. (I happen to have been to glaciers in Alaska and Montana, climbed the Kautz Headwall and glaciers of Mt Ranier, the Jefferson Park Glacier on Mt. Jefferson, summitted Mt. Shasta multiple times as well as the Trinity Alps' highest peak whose flanks hold California's lowest elevation glaciers, not to mention massive glaciers in the Tian Shan mountains of China.)

For the believer, there is the agony of witnessing things that are pure and good, noble and true appear to be rapidly whittled away only to be replaced with sin and sacrilege. There's the added loss of seeing the creation "subjected to futility" and "groaning" (Rom 8:20, 22) up close and personal. Undoubtedly, America has vastly shifted in its nearly 250 years of existence, let alone the world. So much of what is familiar and fun, sacred and serious, has been threatened or removed in the public square or from the face of the map. On balance, thank God this is not the America of Salem witch trials and Mississippi lynchings. Some things have gotten better.

Still, hearts cry out, "Where is this world going?"

It may come as a colossal surprise, in light of the foregoing, for me to say that the world is going to glory! To be clear, it is not that all of the world saddled with sin and burdened under its curse glorifies God. But everything in the world is funneling toward one grand finale in God's design: all of creation, all creatures, all things will glory in God the Father one day and for all time. The apostle Paul, when considering the reality of unbelief among his Jewish kin, in the context of God's promises for their salvation that have yet to be realized, erupts in doxology (the giving of praise to God):

"For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen" (Rom 11:36).

The pains and problems of today do not eclipse the promises of God for glory to come. While we can lament so many things (and we must lament), the Christian must maintain the proper view of where the world is going. Where is the world going? The world is going to glory. The world, and everything in it, will glorify God through Christ Jesus our Lord. Doxology is central to the grand sweeping story of the Bible, indeed it is central to all of history. Doxology is the focal point of both.

Doxologies, having their roots in the Old Testament, are taken up in the New as renewed calls for all of creation to worship God, often explicitly mentioning that the route to get there goes through Jesus Christ. In other words, to worship the Father, you must believe on and worship Christ Jesus his son.

"...to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen." (Rom 16:27)

A Trinitarian shape to doxology, therefore, becomes even more clear in the New Testament while honoring its Old Testament roots. For example, as a result of Christ's incarnation (adding a human nature to his complete and divine nature, equal with the Father), Christ's crucifixion (dying as a substitute for sinners and to satisfy God's wrath), and Christ's exaltation (being raised from the dead and seated at God's right hand), Paul the Apostle tells us that Christ himself will be recognized in worship by all things to the glory of the Father when he writes:

"Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Php 2:9-11)

Here, Paul applies the very words of Yahweh in Isaiah 45:23, "To me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear allegiance," to Christ. Where is all of this going? To glory! This glory is given to God, through Jesus, from every mouth and every bended knee.

This glory is for all time. "To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." (1 Tim 1:17)

This glory comes from every person, angel, and creature. "And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!" (Rev 5:13)

No amount of evil can keep Christ's own from pouring out this glory. "The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen." (2 Tim 4:18)

Beloved, the end of the road leads to the glory of God, his praise and worship, his dominion and power. The world (unbelievers) is not going up into glory or to be glorified, that is the privilege of the saints alone, but everything in the world (all of creation) is destined to praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Now, you have two questions to answer. What is this world coming to in your mind (is it what scripture says)? And will you fear God's glory both now and forevermore?

"Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed" (Rev 15:4).