A girl entrusted with the glory of God.

It was the final day of School of Ministry — a one-year Bible training school I attended after college. We sat in a circle, and the final exam was given. It was just one question:

Is God’s glory safe with you? 

Not a question to answer aloud but one to ask ourselves. A daily exam for our hearts as we ventured into ministry. Our common passion was to move about our world, through motherhood or mission work and everything in between, with the goal of bringing God glory. Every effort is for this ultimate purpose.

But could we be trusted not to touch the glory?

The object of Lucifer’s greed was nothing less than the glory of God. All glory belongs to Him, and yet we all, glory-hounds in our hearts, can be so tempted to touch it, taste it, receive it into ourselves where it, wrongly placed, festers and grows like a cancer.  We were never meant to receive the glory.

The word “glory” speaks of weight, of weightiness. Simply put, our feeble frames were never intended to carry the weight of glory only fit for God. He is the only One great enough, powerful enough, big enough, the only one fit to carry this weight of glory. When we try, we are crushed. We see it again and again in celebrities or famous figures — perhaps we call it falling off the pedestal. It’s the same thing:

Feeble frames are crushed under the weight of trying to bear glory that belongs to God. 

It is ironic then, that some faiths have done this very thing to Mary. I am convinced this is the last thing she would have wanted. She was, in every way, a girl who was entrusted with the glory of God. She literally carried the glory of God inside her womb, at her breast, on her hip. And yet she never sought it for herself. It is tragic that so many have mistreated her by worshipping her.

So then what do we do with Mary?

While we certainly shouldn’t worship her, there are qualities about her that made her a safe vessel for the glory of God.  True, it was simply God’s sovereign choice, and yet clearly she manifested the characteristics of humble servant, an empty vessel who would safely carry the glory of God without taking it for herself.

What was it about her? Tomorrow and Thursday we’ll look at four things I admire about Mary, related to this idea of God’s glory being safe with us. She was simply a girl entrusted with the glory of God. Perhaps we can learn from her, and grow in our own ability to carry His glory to the world, amen?

{See you tomorrow, and thanks for reading.}