“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests” (Luke 2:14).
The words glory and praise have been on my mind recently. The shepherds experienced the glory of the Lord around them and were terrified. The angels declared glory and praise to God and the shepherds were compelled to find the Messiah. Upon their return they also glorified and praised God for all they had seen and heard!
The Apostle Paul writes about our salvation in the first chapter of Ephesians. He states, “For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves” (Eph. 1:4-6). Paul mentions “to the praise of his glory” twice more, indicating we are saved for the purpose of bringing glory and praise to God!
What an awesome thought! Before the world was created God chose us to be “holy and blameless in his sight”. The Baby in the manger is the fulfilment of God’s choice to save us. It is up to us to accept God’s offer of love, proven at the cross and the empty tomb, so we can live to the glory and praise of God!