By Emeritus Prof. Mercy Olumide

Like Christ, we should have a servant’s attitude, serving out of love for God and for others, not out of guilt or fear. Remember, you can choose your attitude. You can approach life expecting to be served, or you can look for opportunities to serve others. See Mark 10:45 for more on Christ’s attitude of servanthood.

(5.3) Adoration Leads To Seeing God’s Glory
“God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. 14: To which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ,” (2Thes 2:13,14).

“Glory,” Gk doxa. The glory of Christ is more than His sublime majesty and the manifest radiance of His power. It is all that He is in His character, power and authority. It includes His love, holiness, righteousness, mercy, grace and truth (cf. John 1:14). His glory is the radiance of all that He is as the resurrected Lord (cf. Heb 1:3).

“And the glory which thou gave me I have given them,” (Jn 17:22).
The “glory” of Christ was His life of self-denying service and His dying on the cross to redeem the human race. Likewise, the “glory” of the believer is the path of humble service and bearing his or her cross (cf. Luke 9:23).

Humility, self-denial and the willingness to suffer for Christ will ensure the true unity of believers and will lead to true glory. The angle of incidence always equals the angle of reflection. If you look at an object sideways then what you will get is a side reflection of the object. Adoration of God means looking at God full in the face and that means contemplating Him, spending time with Him, adoring Him for whom He is, what He has done, what He is doing, and what He will do. Whom He is means His glory, His nature and character— His attributes and what His name conveys—His glory, His honour, His power, His saving grace; some of the characteristics associated with His
name: compassion, being slow to anger, abounding in love, and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin – (Ex 34:6,7). And what was Moses’ response when God revealed His name? “So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped”(Ex 34:8).

(5.4) Gazing On God Produces Not Only Reflection, But Also Transformation
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God,” (Rom 12:2).

God has good, acceptable and perfect plans for His children. Christians are called to “not be conformed to this world,” with its behaviour and customs that are usually selfish and often corrupting.

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