Glory

Such a simple word, yet one that I will never think of in the same way after tonight.

In our Just Jesus service in the prison I got a front row seat to seeing the Glory of God at work. The night started off a little slow, so I pulled out my prayer journal and began praying. After a couple of minutes the whole evening changed. Ladies were coming up and sharing testimonies of what God was teaching them in their darkest of hours. The messages were so beautiful.

Honestly, it got me to thinking. These women are some of the most beautiful people you'll ever meet. At the same time, if you saw them on the street you more than likely wouldn't even look twice. Most of them are missing teeth, have tattoos all over, their hair is not healthy, they are not what society would call attractive. Yet God has changed these very women from the inside out. I walk in and receive a toothless smile that lights up the room. Why? Because that woman has found the unconditional never ending love of our Savior. What could possibly be more beautiful than that?

As the night progressed one of our ladies, Jennifer, got up to sing. She sang How Great Thou Art. I have never heard anything so beautiful. Tears streaming down her face, hands lifted high to her Abba, I watched her sing to her Daddy. She glowed. She was having that special intimate moment with her Father, and I was getting to witness it.

Later, Crystal, fell to her knees as we were singing the song Sweetly Broken. Tears fell down her cheeks as she praised God for what He did on the cross for her. Again, the beauty of a spirit completely broken and leaning upon the One and only one who reaches out to them with arms wide open. She was humbled by the gift of His grace in her life.

Jennifer came back up to share something she realized. She spoke so simply, yet so powerfully. Simply: we are God's glory. His glory is reflected in our lives as His creation. Our purpose is to bring Him glory. He designed us to do just that. So when He looks at us, He see's the beauty in us despite what others may see. Why? When we are His children we become a new creation in Him. He see's us through the blood of Christ. We are beautiful. We have the ability to bring Him the glory He deserves.

There were no dry eyes in the room. We were beautiful. God see's us a beautiful. The world may see us as ugly, toothless, fat, skinny, a cutter, a drug addict, an alcoholic, a prisoner, a screw-up, a lost cause. God saw us, loved us, sent His Son to give His life for us, accepted us, and see's us a beautiful. We were given the gift of being a reflection of His glory to the world around us. So the question becomes: How brightly are you shining?