December 7, 2021

Glory at Work

Glory at Work

Glory at Work

December 7, 2021
December 7, 2021

Glory at Work

Glory at Work

When Jesus came to earth as a baby it was the most glorious moment in the history of the cosmos. Jesus, the word made flesh, came as the exact radiance of God’s glory.

Buy the book
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Read MoreMore Info

There is glory all around us. It’s glorious to be part of a team that competes for and wins a championship. 

There is glory in being part of an organization that is the best in the world at finding cures and saving children. Excellent work St. Jude! 

There is glory in being the global leader in providing rapid, reliable, time-definite delivery of so much of what the world needs. It’s even more glorious to see the impacts of the pandemic reducing because of the delivery of vaccines around the world. Great job Fedex! 

Congratulations on your SEC championship, Alabama! There is glory in playing your best and proving to the nation that you lived up to the Heisman hype. Way to go Bryce Young!

We are all able to experience glory. Each of us experience tastes of glory every day in various ways. We experience moments of glory when we accomplish something important and when we help someone we love do something meaningful. 

You could argue that, as humans, we are addicted to glory. People go out of their way to receive praise and honor all of the time. We even like to be recognized (receive glory) for our humility. So, is it bad to want glory? No. God made us for glory. God gives us small tastes of glory so that we will desire true and lasting glory in his Son Jesus. Randy Pope in his book The Answer says that, “man was designed for glory”. 

Everything is from God including these moments of glory. God gives us moments of temporary glory in order to point us to the fact that we are made for real glory.

Real Glory 

The most glorious moments require an enormous amount of difficulty and suffering as well as rigor and endurance. A championship athlete trains to the point of pain. A successful organization puts in many disciplines to succeed, yet still fails many times to learn how to create solutions — cures, inventions, and systems —  that change the world. 

Nothing exemplifies this better than Mary, the mother of Jesus. She was chosen by God to be the human vessel to bring the incarnate God to earth. She, no doubt is blessed among all women. Yet she would endure doubts, shame, and much suffering even as the Christ child was developing inside of her. To enable the most glorious moment in history, Mary first had to suffer in ways no human had ever experienced. But, by the will of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, Glory came to earth on that not-so-silent night in Bethlehem. 

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. - John 1:14

When Jesus came to earth as a baby it was the most glorious moment in the history of the cosmos. Jesus, the word made flesh, came as the exact radiance of God’s glory (Hebrews 1:3). Yet, God in His infinite wisdom chose to share His radiant glory with His creation to save His people from their sin.

Receive Glory 

God sent His son to us in human flesh and showed us His divine attributes of glory, grace, and truth so that we can receive Him. For all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). 

All humans, male and female, are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27). However, this is an even more incredible promise for those who receive Jesus. Those who receive Him — accept Him as their Savior and follow His commands — will one day be made like Jesus (1 John 3:2) in all of His glory.

Taking Glory To Work 

When we know we are made by God, loved by God, saved by God, and will one day be like the Son of God, we can’t help but point others to the source of our hope (1 Peter 3:15). Here are twelve practical ways to testify to the glory of God by exhibiting glory in your life and work. 

  1. Enjoy your work. Be full of joy at work. -  “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” - Psalm 16:11
  2. Be creative, make things, be innovative, problem solve, put things in order. - “God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground. ” - Genesis 1:28
  3. Give credit to God for everything good. - “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31
  4. Give your very best effort every day. - “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” - Colossians 3:23-24
  5. Do not point to yourself or other humans as the ultimate source of gifts and blessings. - “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” - Romans 1:21
  6. Work hard without complaining or pouting. - “Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky” - Philippians 2:14-15
  7. Don’t be easily offended, instead go out of your way to help others. -  “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” - 1 Peter 3:8
  8. Be full of grace, forgive others. - Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. - Matthew 18:21-22
  9. Do all work consistent with the truth of God. - “And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong---not so that people will see that we have stood the test but so that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.” - 2 Corinthians 13:7-8
  10. Pray for your coworkers and friends. - “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
  11. Tell your coworkers what Jesus has done for you. - “Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” - John 4:28-29
  12. Thank God for your work. - “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Howard Graham
Howard Graham
Executive Director

There is glory all around us. It’s glorious to be part of a team that competes for and wins a championship. 

There is glory in being part of an organization that is the best in the world at finding cures and saving children. Excellent work St. Jude! 

There is glory in being the global leader in providing rapid, reliable, time-definite delivery of so much of what the world needs. It’s even more glorious to see the impacts of the pandemic reducing because of the delivery of vaccines around the world. Great job Fedex! 

Congratulations on your SEC championship, Alabama! There is glory in playing your best and proving to the nation that you lived up to the Heisman hype. Way to go Bryce Young!

We are all able to experience glory. Each of us experience tastes of glory every day in various ways. We experience moments of glory when we accomplish something important and when we help someone we love do something meaningful. 

You could argue that, as humans, we are addicted to glory. People go out of their way to receive praise and honor all of the time. We even like to be recognized (receive glory) for our humility. So, is it bad to want glory? No. God made us for glory. God gives us small tastes of glory so that we will desire true and lasting glory in his Son Jesus. Randy Pope in his book The Answer says that, “man was designed for glory”. 

Everything is from God including these moments of glory. God gives us moments of temporary glory in order to point us to the fact that we are made for real glory.

Real Glory 

The most glorious moments require an enormous amount of difficulty and suffering as well as rigor and endurance. A championship athlete trains to the point of pain. A successful organization puts in many disciplines to succeed, yet still fails many times to learn how to create solutions — cures, inventions, and systems —  that change the world. 

Nothing exemplifies this better than Mary, the mother of Jesus. She was chosen by God to be the human vessel to bring the incarnate God to earth. She, no doubt is blessed among all women. Yet she would endure doubts, shame, and much suffering even as the Christ child was developing inside of her. To enable the most glorious moment in history, Mary first had to suffer in ways no human had ever experienced. But, by the will of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, Glory came to earth on that not-so-silent night in Bethlehem. 

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. - John 1:14

When Jesus came to earth as a baby it was the most glorious moment in the history of the cosmos. Jesus, the word made flesh, came as the exact radiance of God’s glory (Hebrews 1:3). Yet, God in His infinite wisdom chose to share His radiant glory with His creation to save His people from their sin.

Receive Glory 

God sent His son to us in human flesh and showed us His divine attributes of glory, grace, and truth so that we can receive Him. For all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (John 1:12). 

All humans, male and female, are made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27). However, this is an even more incredible promise for those who receive Jesus. Those who receive Him — accept Him as their Savior and follow His commands — will one day be made like Jesus (1 John 3:2) in all of His glory.

Taking Glory To Work 

When we know we are made by God, loved by God, saved by God, and will one day be like the Son of God, we can’t help but point others to the source of our hope (1 Peter 3:15). Here are twelve practical ways to testify to the glory of God by exhibiting glory in your life and work. 

  1. Enjoy your work. Be full of joy at work. -  “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” - Psalm 16:11
  2. Be creative, make things, be innovative, problem solve, put things in order. - “God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground. ” - Genesis 1:28
  3. Give credit to God for everything good. - “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31
  4. Give your very best effort every day. - “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” - Colossians 3:23-24
  5. Do not point to yourself or other humans as the ultimate source of gifts and blessings. - “For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.” - Romans 1:21
  6. Work hard without complaining or pouting. - “Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky” - Philippians 2:14-15
  7. Don’t be easily offended, instead go out of your way to help others. -  “Finally, all of you, be like-minded, be sympathetic, love one another, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult. On the contrary, repay evil with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.” - 1 Peter 3:8
  8. Be full of grace, forgive others. - Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. - Matthew 18:21-22
  9. Do all work consistent with the truth of God. - “And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong---not so that people will see that we have stood the test but so that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth.” - 2 Corinthians 13:7-8
  10. Pray for your coworkers and friends. - “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
  11. Tell your coworkers what Jesus has done for you. - “Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” - John 4:28-29
  12. Thank God for your work. - “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Subscribe to email updates.

Sign up to receive resources and weekly updates.