Global Champion ...

Thursday, Feb 7, 2019. As humans we are very concerned about glory. When you watch the evening news, you find reports on the latest winners of the olympics, or the European chapionships. You find news about the latest economic indices and which party is winning in the opinion polls. Much of the media is concerned with talking about people, about their glory, about failure and achievements - which might only be topped by news about catastrophy and war.

God's Glory …

Before we discuss the question of “glory” further, let us look into the following song, from the book of Psalms, one of the famous biblical books. It is about glory as well - but about God's glory.

1 A Psalm of David. The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,1 the world and those who dwell therein, 2 for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. 3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. 5 He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.2 7 Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle! 9 Lift up your heads, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory! (Psalm 24)

There is a lot in this psalm, a lot to recognize. Several important points …

Earth, Purity, Power …

First of all, God is the creator. He owns the earth. He has made it. He has given it to mankind to live in it, to take care of it. But he is still the owner … And everything which is in the world is the Lord's! The seas and the rivers, animals and much more.

Second, the Lord is holy. It is not trivial that you can approach God. He is pure. He is truth. He is love. The question, how to get in contact with the Lord is an important and basic question. Who shall stand in his holy place? The answer here is very clear: who has clean hands and a pure heart! There is personal purity needed to stand before God. The main topic of the gospels is how this purity can be achieved, and the cross of Jesus is communicated as the only path for humans to be fully pure and reconciled before God!

Third, God is the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. The Old Testament stretches this point many times - it seems to be important. In modern times, with the cross of Jesus, with his weakness in terms of physical power, we tend to ignore the power of God. The Old Testament people know his power, they had experienced it in many very real situations.

When we talk about what deserves our attention, what is to be talked about, then it should be the Lord. He is fantastic! There is a lot to say about God, much to find and to enjoy. (Roland Potthast) ... further texts