OK--so you've just sent your KIDS to school--either this week or perhaps 30 years ago--but you well remember those days! As I well remember a high school freshmen class--LATIN--it was one of my favorites, and I strove for excellence. I am reminded of it once again in the phrase "Soli Deo Gloria" which appears at the end of every issue of the Internet for Christians newsletter.
I "inherited" the position of executive editor of this fine newsletter several years ago from Dr. Quentin Schultze of Calvin College, a Reformed Calvinist, who concluded every issue he edited with this Latin phrase, "Soli Deo Gloria." Upon learning its deep meaning, I knew it had to continue to be a part of every newsletter I did--and if you check it out, you'll find it there!
So what does it mean? "For the Glory of God Alone." It stands as the foundation of Reformation theology (see link below)...and reminds us, of whatever denomination we may be, of our real dependence on God and God alone--and of attributing all we are, all we do, and all we ever hope to be, to His Glory and His Glory alone.
A high-and-mighty theology that transcends us into the holy heavens of God...wonderful, glorious, but how in the world do we translate and transfer that old Latin phase into the 2001 world in which we live NOW? How do we glorify God TODAY? You--and I--are in for a come-down-to-earth-quickly BUMP as we read:
"...we glory in TRIBULATIONS also, knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope; and hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who is given unto us (Romans 5:3-5)."
"But God forbid that I should glory, except in the CROSS of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world (Galatians 6:14)."
Want to live "for the glory of God and God alone"? Then get ready for the tribulations that will enter your life as you seek to glorify His Name. It is through the trials and testings of real life that we show forth His glory--in the way we trust Him in the trial, in the way we triumph through the trial, drawing closer to Him, and revealing His glory and goodness to a lost world.
AND--it's through the glory of the CROSS--the hard things of life--that His glory shines; that people around us will KNOW the God we serve gives us a faith that WORKS, in sorrow as well as joy, in suffering as well as peace. We testify to the world that His Word and our faith WORKS--when our lives are truly lived daily "for the glory of God and God alone!
Think about it...and whatever tribulation--or cross--you bear today, let GOD receive the ultimate glory as you are tried, tested--and taught by Him...it's a Latin lesson I want not only to LEARN but to LIVE...how about you!
SOLI DEO GLORIA!
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