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"Give God the Glory, Glory"
Metaphysical Application Ideas for the Christian Science Bible Lesson on

“God”
for July 15, 2018

by Christie Hanzlik, CS from Boulder, Colorado
720-331-9356 • christiecs.com

Introduction

A long-time favorite song at CedarS is about Noah’s Ark and contains the chorus…”Rise and shine and give God your glory, glory, Children of the Lord.” While I’m fairly certain that the Bible Lesson committee was not thinking of this camp song as they listened for the right citations to include in this week’s lesson, I find that the chorus about giving God glory offers an interesting way to see the lesson…to my way of reading it, this lesson is all about “giving God the glory, glory."

“Glory” seems like a tough word to pin down, but perhaps we can think of glory as magnificence, splendor, resplendence, grandeur, majesty, greatness, nobility and honor, among other qualities. When thinking of “glory,” we could also ponder the line in the Doxology that says, “And as Thy glory fills the sky…” Picture the inspiring sunrises, and sunsets and starry nights you’ve seen as hints of how the glory—the magnificence, splendor, resplendence, grandeur, majesty, greatness, nobility and honor—of God fills the sky. Doxology means a public worship and praise. The Doxology hymn is also known as the communion hymn. As I understand it, the Doxology is a hymn that praises God while stating our at-one-ment with God:

Be thou oh God exalted high
And as Thy glory fills the sky
So let it be on earth displayed
Tlll Thou are here and now obeyed

A couple weeks ago, I was really struggling to understand what the last verse of this hymn means. And since I was at CedarS and surrounded by thoughtful pray-ers, I asked several people what they think it means. I found my friend Jover’s response particularly useful. She suggests that maybe it means….

Be thou oh God exalted high
And as Thy glory fills the sky
So let it be on earth displayed
Tlll Thou are here (until I understand You) and now obeyed (and even now I obey even though I am still learning to fully understand).

Feel free to share with me what this last line means to you. The Doxology seems especially relevant to this lesson because both the hymn and the lesson are about praise of God’s glory and the emphasis on understanding and obeying God.

As you read this week’s lesson, I’m sure you’ll find themes and inspirations of your own. As I read it, I found it helpful look for all the “glory” words. I’m seeing lots and lots of references to glory and majesty that remind us to be in awe of the magnificence of God. The Golden Text opens with praise for God as “clothed with honor and majesty.” When we see inspiring skies as glimpses of God’s glory, it is like we’re catching a glimpse of the earth as clothed and protected in the honor and majesty of Love. The Responsive Reading (RR) continues to describe God’s glory…

` God’s glory…

• reigneth

• is clothed with majesty

• has established the world

• cannot be moved

• is everlasting

• is clothed with strength

• is mightier than the noise of many waters

• is mightier than the mighty waves of the sea

The remainder of the Responsive Reading offers a pledge of praise: "I will praise thee, O Lord my God, with all my heart: and I will GLORIFY thy name for evermore.” (RR)

Section 1 — To know and understand God is to give God glory. [PS#1-PS#2]

The first section explains that as we know and understand God more and more, the more and more we can give God our glory. Here are some of the ways the first section describes giving glory to God:

• "give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.” (B1)

• "Give unto the Lord, O ye mighty, give unto the Lord GLORY and strength." (B2)

• "The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of GLORY thundereth:" (B2)

• "the Lord is upon many waters." (B2)

• "The voice of the Lord is powerful;" (B2)

• "the voice of the Lord is full of majesty." (B2)

• "Give unto the Lord the GLORY due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." (B2)

In the correlating ideas from Science and Health, we read that we can obey—“and now obeyed”—in proportion as we understand God—“till Thou art here.” (Hymn 1) As Mary Baker Eddy states, "We shall obey and adore in proportion as we apprehend the divine nature and love Him understandingly, warring no more over the corporeality, but rejoicing in the affluence of our God." (S3, my italics) God is not a mystery, but rather "God is to be understood, adored, and demonstrated.” (S5) “Not materially but spiritually we know Him as divine Mind, as Life, Truth, and Love.” (S3)

In God’s words, according to the prophet Isaiah, "ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he.” (B5) And to show how God can be understood and defined, Mary Baker Eddy offers this definition: "GOD. The great I AM; the all-knowing, all-seeing, all-acting, all-wise, all-loving, and eternal; Principle; Mind; Soul; Spirit; Life; Truth; Love; all substance; intelligence.” (S3)

It is not disrespectful to try to understand God. Seeing God as understandable does not mean that Christian Scientists do not glorify God. As Mary Baker Eddy states, "Christian Science takes naught from the perfection of God, but it ascribes to Him the entire GLORY.” (S4)

Section 2 — We see and understand God’s glory through God’s creation [PS#3-PS#4]

We can learn more about the glory of God by looking at God’s creation—"So let it be on earth displayed.” (Hymn 1)

In Psalms we read that "The heavens declare the GLORY of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork.” (B6) As we see more and more of God’s goodness, we can praise God more and more. We can "Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.” (B7)

And, of course, we can remember that we are not separate from God but rather are a part of God’s glorious creation—“For we are also his offspring.” (B9)

Seeing ourselves as the children of God will help us to see God as Father-Mother. As Mary Baker Eddy (MBE) writes, "Father-Mother is the name for Deity, which indicates His tender relationship to His spiritual creation. (S7) MBE's emphasizes our connection to God as Father in statements such as "God is the only author of man” (S8) and "God is his Father, and Life is the law of his being.” (S9) We are God’s “image and likeness.” (S10)

We can understand God and understand man’s spiritual relation to God. In proportion that we understand the relationship between God the only cause and creator and us as the creation, we can see all the glories of earth and heaven and man. As Mary Baker Eddy writes, "When we learn the way in Christian Science and recognize man's spiritual being, we shall behold and understand God's creation, — all the GLORIES of earth and heaven and man.” (S12)

Section 3 — We learn more about God’s glory from Christ Jesus’ words and works [PS#5]

Christ Jesus shows us the way to understand more about the glory of God. As Jesus "went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil” he was glorifying God, and helping us to see how we too can glorify God. (B11) Jesus’ words and works show us the majesty of God, "For he received from God the Father honour and GLORY, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent GLORY, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (B13)

Jesus helped us become more aware of God and taught us about Christ. "Jesus demonstrated Christ; he proved that Christ is the divine idea of God — the Holy Ghost, or Comforter, revealing the divine Principle, Love, and leading into all truth.” (S13)

Section 4 —Christ Jesus demonstrated that there is no other power than God [PS#6-PS#9]

Christ Jesus demonstrated that God is the only source of power and that there is no power apart from God. When Christ Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law and stilled the storm [B16], he proved the line from the Doxology: "So let it be on earth displayed.” (Hymn 1) The words and work of Christ Jesus glorified God and were not just for people to witness 2000 years ago, but are also possible for us today. As Christ Jesus states, "He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father." (B18)

Only God has power. The power of the Christ did not only exist for Jesus in a certain time and place, but exists in all places at all times for all mankind to know and witness. Nothing has power apart from God. This is what Jesus proved as he stilled the stormy sea. As Mary Baker Eddy writes, "There is no power apart from God. Omnipotence has all-power, and to acknowledge any other power is to dishonor God. The humble Nazarene overthrew the supposition that sin, sickness, and death have power. He proved them powerless.” (S18)

Mary Baker Eddy explains that what may seem to be a physical force is but a limited belief—"Erring power is a material belief, a blind miscalled force, the offspring of will and not of wisdom, of the mortal mind and not of the immortal.” (S19) And as we come to understand more and more about God as the only source of power, we will find ourselves more and more capable of healing the sick. In other words, "When we come to have more faith in the truth of being than we have in error, more faith in Spirit than in matter, more faith in living than in dying, more faith in God than in man, then no material suppositions can prevent us from healing the sick and destroying error.” (S20) Like Christ Jesus, we too can know that God’s glory that fills the sky is also meant to "be on earth displayed.” (Hymn 1)

Section 5 We can all hear the Christ message and come to understand God better and better [PS#10]

In the fifth section, we find that Cornelius, who was not Jewish, was tuned in to God and was able to hear Christ-message clearly. It is important to note that Cornelius could hear God because many early Christians believed that only Jewish people could be true believers. The message that Cornelius received was to go find Peter. Cornelius is obedient to the message and goes to find Peter, Jesus’ disciple, and then heaps praise on Peter. Peter, a Jew, could have felt torn about accepting Cornelius because it was against his customs and ways to eat with non-Jews. But Peter treats him as an equal, and Peter tells Cornelius that God has opened his thought so that he now understands that all mankind can give glory to God and enjoy God’s blessings. Peter says to Cornelius, "Stand up; I myself also am a man. And as he talked with him, he went in, and found many that were come together. And he said unto them, Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation; but God hath shewed me that I should not call any man common or unclean….Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.” (B20)

At the time, Peter’s statement that we are all the children of God was a radical and revolutionary idea. Paul, the author of Galatians, echoes Peter’s radical words, "For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” (B21)

Put simply, we are all one as we glorify God.

The Christ-message is God speaking directly to us. Mary Baker Eddy states clearly, "Christ is the true idea voicing good, the divine message from God to men speaking to the human consciousness.” (S23) Angel messages are another way of describing the Christ message: "Angels are pure thoughts from God, winged with Truth and Love, no matter what their individualism may be.” (S24)

Pure thoughts from God speak to each one of us, and do not discriminate. God/Love speaks to each of us. The Christ message is speaking to each of us, and does not single out particular groups of people. "Love is impartial and universal in its adaptation and bestowals.” (S26) We are a “whole family of man,” under God, as God unifies us. (S27) In a clear statement of our unity under God’s government, MBE writes, "One infinite God, good, unifies men and nations; constitutes the brotherhood of man; ends wars; fulfils the Scripture, "Love thy neighbor as thyself;" annihilates pagan and Christian idolatry, — whatever is wrong in social, civil, criminal, political, and religious codes; equalizes the sexes; annuls the curse on man, and leaves nothing that can sin, suffer, be punished or destroyed.” (S28)

Section 6 — Thy glory fills the sky

The final section of this week’s lesson brings home the message that God’s glory fills all space. Imagine all the stars in the sky and all the light that we know of in the universe…this is only a glimpse into the infinity of God’s light and abundance. Astronomers say that there are approximately one billion trillion stars in the observable universe. One billion trillion! And 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 stars is just a hint of how many exist. Each of those stars hints at God’s infinite light.

• "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." (B22)

• "God is the Lord, which hath shewed us light:” (B23)

“…And as thy glory fills the sky!” (Hymn 1)

Note this wonderful statement of God’s glory: "Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the GLORY, and the victory, and the majesty: for all that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine; thine is the kingdom, O Lord, and thou art exalted as head above all. Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reignest over all; and in thine hand is power and might; and in thine hand it is to make great, and to give strength unto all. Now therefore, our God, we thank thee, and praise thy GLORIOUS name." (B24)

In Science and Health we read about God’s all-encompassing glory: "The depth, breadth, height, might, majesty, and GLORY of infinite Love fill all space.” (B29) God’s light illumines the universe! As Mary Baker Eddy states, "Divine Science, the Word of God, saith to the darkness upon the face of error, 'God is All-in-all,' and the light of ever-present Love illumines the universe. Hence the eternal wonder, — that infinite space is peopled with God's ideas, reflecting Him in countless spiritual forms.” (S30)

As a symbol of God’s constant and glorious light, we have the immediate example of the sun—the symbol of Soul—and just as the rays are connected to sun so are we at one with God. "As a drop of water is one with the ocean, a ray of light one with the sun, even so God and man, Father and son, are one in being. The Scripture reads: 'For in Him we live, and move, and have our being.’” (S31) We cannot be separated from God. We can be grateful and “rejoice that we are subject” only to God’s power—this is the glory of God. (S32)

The more we come to understand God, the more we can glorify God and be the glory of God.


For Your Support, PLEASE:
1. MUCH MORE CAMPERSHIP FUNDING IS STILL NEEDED (STILL WELL over $100k) AS APPLICATIONS CONTINUE TO COME IN DAILY ONLINE! Thank you for giving the camperships that are greatly needed, life-transforming and forever appreciated by over 400 worthy recipients and their families and churches.

You can see pictures of the opening of our best-yet summer 1st and 2nd Sessions of nearly 300 guests each session and Memorial Weekend of 220 Family Campers and staff at www.cedarscamps.org or on FaceBook or Instagram. (The password is CedarS.)

Especially helpful are your much-needed MONTHLY gifts, past and ongoing, that can be started and adjusted as you wish at: www.cedarscamps.org/giving ] All of your gifts add up to big blessings in the lives of today's Sunday School students (tomorrow's joyous workers in our Christ-centered church)!

2. MUCH MORE FACILITY MAINTENANCE FUNDING IS STILL NEEDED (ALSO STILL over $100K total) TO KEEP CEDARS FACILITIES FUNCTIONING UP TO THE LEVEL OF ITS MISSION! (Reliable shuttle vans and stronger boat-tow vehicle(s) are needed, our original Crown Lake spillway needs to be replaced, stronger internet service would be a huge help to office operations and for our staff and fall guests… other details coming in a few weeks.)

3. CedarS “Adopt the Herd” Matching Fund has been met!

In the time since Giving Tuesday you helped raise ~$65k for the Riding Program, which will be doubled through the Adopt the Herd Matching Fund, for a total of $130k Adopt the Herd match!

With heartfelt gratitude and love,
Warren, Gay, Holly & your CedarS Family

P.S. If you haven't yet given, or are blessed with more to give, we still have many needs, big and small, that you can help meet by clicking on https://www.cedarscamps.org/giving/tree/.

You can also reach a member of the Founding family nearly anytime by
PHONE at 417-532-6699.

or MAIL to our Summer-Fall address at camp (in red below) your tax-deductible support to our 501-C-3 organization.

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Lebanon, MO 65536

THANKS TO YOU PRECIOUS DONORS FOR YOUR ONGOING, GENEROUS and NEEDED SUPPORT OF CedarS IMPORTANT WORK!

CedarS weekly Metaphysical Newsletter is provided at no charge to the 1,200 campers and staff blessed each summer at CedarS, as well as to CedarS alumni, families and friends who have requested it. However, current and planned gifts are a huge proof of your ongoing LOVE made visible and are greatly appreciated!! They not only defray the costs of running this service but also provide greatly needed camperships and essential program and operations support.

The Met application ideas above are provided primarily to help CedarS campers and staff (as well as friends) see and daily demonstrate the great value of studying and applying the Christian Science Bible lessons throughout the year, not just at camp! YOU CAN ALSO SIGN UP for weekly emails from past CedarS staff of possible ways to share Bible Lesson applications with older, as well as younger, Sunday School classes by clicking the "Subscribe Now" button (lower left) at http://www.cedarscamps.org/meta

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