The Glory of Our King

There is something particular missing in Christian outreach today. An understatement? Any number of us could come up with a long list of elements, whether it has to do with the content of our message, our lack of Biblical literacy, our misunderstanding of the gospel, a lack of love for our neighbor, an over-emphasis on canned tracts, decisionalism instead of discipleship, or a lack of relationships with non-Christians to begin with. All this may be true, but in preparing to teach on evangelism I became aware that in all the resources I found not much is said of God’s kingdom and his glory.

God’s kingdom and glory are, to me, among the most difficult to teach, and yet are so prevalent and prominent in Scripture. God is zealous for his own glory in Is 48:8-11, Moses wants to see God’s glory in Ex 33:18, the Psalmist wants to proclaim God’s glory in Ps 57:5, and the King displays his glory in Ps 24:7-9. What is the connection with evangelism? Simply this: If we envisioned ourselves more so as citizens of a heavenly kingdom under the rule of a glorious, mighty, brilliant, eternal King, who promises expansion of his kingdom and ultimate victory…wouldn’t we want to be caught up in the privilege of being a part of its growth and success?

Sam Storms touches on this in One Thing when he writes about a grander vision of his glorious King, ““I often try to envision what my life would be like if this were an accurate description of my relationship with God…I trust that I would display an uncommon boldness and courage in sharing Christ.” Surly the glory of our King, and the expansion of his kingdom are worthy concepts of our meditation for the rest of our lives, and will in turn have a profound impact on us as we reach out to others.