Psalm 86:12 English Standard Version (ESV) I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.

John 13:31-32 English Standard Version

31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.

Jesus declared His glory right after the last supper. He was on the path to the Cross. He would be taken that night. Every step He took leading up to His crucifixion glorified God the Father by obedience of faith.

Jesus glorified the Father in Himself and in so doing, the Father was glorified in Christ. The reason He could do so was that part of Him which was fully God and was shared equally in the unity of the Trinity. Note closely that they were glorified immediately, “at once”.

Here we are thousands of years removed from that moment in time and we live in this church age in which God the Father wants God the Son to be glorified today, immediately, at once.

To understand what glory is in respect to the Father and Son we should define glory as the essence of God in character and personality. It is not merely His reputation and good name, it is the representation of God the Son dwelling in us, His essence.

How does the world get to see the Son in us?

As with all things human, seeing is believing. They will only see Him if our actions are based on obedience of faith. In obedience we glorify God the Son, who Glorifies the Father, who glorifies us because Christ abides in us. We cannot show Christ without obedience of faith.

Where we get tripped up is in believing that being good is the same thing as being obedient.

Granted, when we make human mistakes it reflects poorly on our own character, but that is us, not Christ. It is important to keep these two issues at the forefront of all our ministries, repentance and forgiveness. We are going to make mistakes. Own them, confess them, get over it and get on with the business at hand, obedience of faith.

We should never tell a non-believer that faith in Christ is instant perfection. We will always have the ability to sin but we do not have the inclination to sin. The ability to make right choices gets better as we grow in Christ. Maturity is found over time. It is not a matter of effort but rather a matter of relationship. The better the relationship, the faster the maturing process.

1 John 2:16 King James Version (KJV) For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

English Standard Version

16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.

Eye lust is brought to you by way of an old mind remembering where it first memorized God’s Word via the KJV.

Is there a difference between lust and desire? I sure hope there is or else I am in real trouble.

Eye candy is the most popular form of temptation. We see it everywhere. It is in the rack at the checkout counter of every grocery and convenience store. It is a known fact that sales are increased by the ease in which such items are placed for access.

What catches the eye is not the devil’s doing, it is a sales strategy. You cannot blame the store for wanting to increase sales.

Social media goes one step further and preys on the instincts of the dark arts of human emotions. They present a photo with a caption that indicates some salacious gossip and in clicking onto that photo you will discover a link that has nothing to do with the photo. That is called switch and bait. I know because I too have fallen for it. We all have our curiosities.

What if a link took you where you did not expect? What if it led you to a porn site? Now your eye has to deal with something you might not have chosen for yourself. When we give into the temptation of the bait and switch we have given up control of where we go and what we have to deal with.

What might seem harmless can lead us to a place of discomfort and given today’s hacking skills, it might end up in a place of danger. Ransomware exists and is not our friend.

We are supposed to be aware of the schemes of the devil and the easiest way to get drawn in where we should not tread is because of eye candy. A diabetic knows better than to buy those delicious candies at the counter. Those that are not diabetic can get there if they give in too often to those temptations. Obesity is a national problem.

Sin isn’t a national problem, it is a personal one. We do not partake just because everyone else does it. 

Or do we?