“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and His glory will be seen upon you”  - Isaiah 60:1-2

To set forth a definition of the word glory, is no easy task. Like many other theological concepts, God’s glory is a concept that we have an awareness of without necessarily being able to describe it in all its fullness. First, when we think of the glory of the Lord, the image of brilliant light often comes to our minds. Scripture often describes the glory of God in terms of a light that shines brighter than anything that we experience on earth.

Other biblical passages connect God’s glory with his holiness and weightiness. His glory points to His significance. In Leviticus 10 we see the account of Nadab and Abihu, who offered strange fire before the Lord. It is clear that Nadab and Abihu acted irreverently, they did not approach God with proper reverence.  They did not glorify the Lord, and so they were consumed by fire from on high.

So, glorifying God requires us to understand His significance, holiness, and weightiness, but Leviticus 10:1–3 also informs us of the seriousness of worship. Coming together with God’s people to praise His name is a distinct privilege and not something we should take lightly. The Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 11:29–30 that partaking of the Lord’s Supper without giving due attention to its significance can kill us. We do not worship a God who can be regarded in a flippant or otherwise careless manner.

Augustine often spoke of the weightiness of worship, the seriousness of mind that we must have when we enter into God’s presence. We worship an awesome Lord, so we must always worship in a proper way. Does our worship reflect the full significance of all of God’s attributes, or does it treat Him merely as our “best pal”? To glorify God is to give Him the honor He is due. Let’s never offer anything less to Him.