Distinction between Grace and Glory

UV 1446/10,000 Grace and Glory

For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.

Psalm 84 v 11

This uni-verse describes in a nutshell a kind of spiritual ecology. The Lord God gives us grace to bear or to face up and overcome the common challenges facing the human race: sin, disease, conflict and other limiting factors. Grace is the God-given ability to endure our present troubles. Glory is like the reward a runner receives at the end of the race. Instead of recognition by fellow human beings, glory implies recognition by the Lord of a life of faith. The Lord is like the glorious sun that radiates heat and energy into our lives. At the same time, He is the umbrella that shields us from excessive power and heat. As plants stretch out their leaves to soak in sunshine all day long, so we must stretch out the different aspects of our lives to receive grace and glory. We participate in what I call “protosynthesis”. Our growth needs grace and our fruit brings glory. Grace is a need while glory is a result. We yield to God and He shields us. We resist the enemy and he flees. Grace is defensive while glory is victorious. Grace is upholding us while glory uplifts us.

The good that the Lord releases into our lives are summed up in the words: faith, hope and love. Faith, hope and love are of the essence of eternal life. Faith is a quality associated with God, the Father, hope with the Holy Spirit and love with Jesus. The other fruit that are connected to love are goodness, humility, gentleness, peace and patience. Patience is called the prince of virtues as it is a trait common to the realization and exercise of faith, hope and love. The spiritual fruit of self control is associated with the Holy Spirit since scripture says that the spirit that we are given is not one of fear but of love, power and self control. These are the truly good things that the Lord releases into our lives.

It is not as if we have no responsibility for the uni-verse says that the Lord expects us to walk uprightly. We should earnestly desire to be upright and also endeavour to do our best to live uprightly. The Lord will add His grace to fill the gaps in our character and our practice of our faith. The word “good things” apart from the things God esteems- faith, hope and love, also implies the 10,000 blessings the Lord has ordained or arranged for us in the course of our days. Anything “good” in our lives is authored by God. The word good means “of God.” What is good is of God and what is of God is good.

Prateep V Philip