"… but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen." (2 Peter 3:18 NASB)
The objective in studying God’s Word has become simple for me: To grow in the knowledge of God, which consequently produces growth in grace; thus, leading me to glorify God often and more authentically. Recently, I’ve begun to see the connectedness between growing in the knowledge of the The Lord, growing in grace, and glorifying God and I realize that there is no separation between the three. Each one flows into the other! The more I learn about God, the more I understand grace; the more I understand grace, the more I want to glorify God. It’s a beautiful cycle that will continue into eternity!
I have read the Bible, and studied the Bible for years, but sadly I was not growing in the knowledge of The Lord. I was approaching the Bible in a "tell me about me" or "tell me what I need to do" manner. And while that approach is not all bad, I realize that it is certainly a very self-centered approach to Bible study. Ultimately, this self-centered approach caused me to miss the bigger picture: God! When God finally opened my eyes to study with Him in mind, it was like a whole new illumination of Scripture!
I began to see the depth of God’s Grace with every flip of a page and to say that the revealing of His grace has consumed me, would be a complete understatement! I realize now that every piece of my life is saturated in God’s Grace. There is nothing about my life that I can boast in or take credit for doing. God has become bigger and more majestic to me! The depth of His Grace humbles me daily. My sinfulness and depravity has become more visible to me, yet God’s sovereignty and grace has become precious to me. I am often left completely awestruck by God’s goodness. Even in bad times, I rest in knowing that He is still all-seeing, all-knowing, and all-powerful.
Through these realizations, I am deeply moved to glorify God all the more! In fact, there is no better response that I can provide than to glorify Him! Furthermore, I now understand why I glorify Him. It’s not merely because someone else told me to do it. It’s not because I see other people doing it. It’s not because I believe that God is only good for providing me with materialistic and worldly things. I glorify God because I have beheld His majesty for myself! I have tasted of His grace personally, and I cannot help but to praise and glorify Him in all that I do.
Understand that there is a clear integration between our theology (the study of God) and our doxology (the expression of praise to God). Right theology leads to right doxology. As we grow in the knowledge of God, we also grow in grace, and we grow in how we glorify God. Our praise becomes more authentic, more meaningful, and certainly less shallow and superficial. We become worshipers in “spirit and truth” (John 4:23-24) through the connectivity of God’s truth (the Bible) that has illuminated our minds, and God’s Spirit that has renewed our hearts.
Prayer: Father, thank you for being such a good Father. Thank you for your grace! Thank you for your love! Thank you for your mercy! We stand in awesome wonder of your majesty, God. Continue to help us come into the knowledge of who You are and grow us daily in grace so that we may glorify You in “spirit and truth.” Remove all pride from our hearts and let our thirst for knowledge be rooted in our quest to glorify you more and more. Remind us daily of the connectedness between our knowledge of You and our worship of You. Let nothing that we do be done in vain. In Jesus Christ’s name, Amen!