Show Me...Thank You...Make Me

"Show me Your glory!". Great song, recorded by Third Day, one of my favorite worship bands. It's also a common cry in the Church. Well, maybe not all churches, but in mine, and those like mine, it is heard often. (Yes. I am one of those...charismatic to my core. We can talk about that another time.)

We didn't make up the phrase, you know. Moses did, and I'm pretty sure he wasn't one of those kind of Christians. So it's legitimate, this "show me" cry that we pray and sing with such urgency. Here is a clip of the conversation between Moses and God:

Exodus 33:18-19

"Then Moses said, "Now show me Your glory."  And the LORD said, "I will cause all My goodness to pass in front of you..."

This intrigued me. Moses asked for glory, so God showed His goodness. I don't know if "goodness" is what Moses was after, nor what His church is after when they ask to see His glory. To be honest, I have no idea what people are after when they ask for glory. It seems rude to ask, so I just smile, like I know exactly what's going on. It's how I live.

"Glory" has always been one of those abstract words for me.  I'm a visual person, so in order for me to grasp something, I generally have to know what it looks like. I suspect this is behind my inability to do math. Or comprehend directions. (don't think too long on that, just nod your head up and down like it makes all the sense in the world.)

So I studied this "Glory" word in an attempt to figure out what it looks like so that I too could cry "show me Your glory" without feeling like a complete fraud. I don't really care for praying or singing something when I really have no idea what I'm saying. I'm quirky that way...among many other ways.

What I discovered is that His glory is the display of who He is. In a nutshell, when we cry out "show us Your glory", we're saying "show us who You are!". Ok, now we're getting somewhere. I can get my head around that. So while others are shouting for glory, I'm shouting "show me You!". Not out loud mind you. "show me You" is a bit awkward when you're the only one shouting it during church, and I like to fit in at least a little.

And here is the meat of my story. I've seen His glory, many times, in many ways. His unconditional love that moved Him to die on my behalf so that I would not have to pay the ultimate price for my sin? Glory. The many choices I've made in my life that did not result in what I deserved soley because of His mercy poured out? Glory. The strength that has risen up in me to continue to trust Him in the face of impossibilities? Glory. The comfort He has wrapped around me when my heart was in amazing pain? Glory. I could go on and on. His glory has been all over my life, and in the lives of so many others that I walk beside in this life.

That was the first step in this 'revelation' of glory. From there, it became less about "show me", and more about "thank You for Your glory!" But it didn't end there. It rarely ends there. He took me another step, because afterall, that's what this journey is...one step after another.

If we are asking to see His glory, where do we want to see it? Are we waiting for it to fall down and just hover above our heads? Please tell me we want something more than that...more than some ethereal essence floating around that we can play in. (Seriously...I've heard people talk...and I just gotta wonder). Ok, I'll make it about me. I want God to be seen, by me and by those around me. I want His love seen, His mercy, His compassion, His encouragement and comfort. In me. On display. Evident to anyone watching.

So once again He has altered the cry of my heart. Now, the primary shout coming from the deep in me is "make me a display of You!". And I do shout that one out loud, and I want others to shout it out loud. Why? Because I don't want the Church to remain content to observe His glory. I want them to hunger to display His glory.

God has His work cut out, if He's going to answer this new cry of my heart. I may occassionaly display His glory, but I am a display of my own glory far more often. In bright lights and living color. But I have faith in God's ability to reshape and transform people, and in His ability and desire to answer the hungry cry of a flawed heart. He's quirky like that.