Dr Paul Allen

To the Glory of God  (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Christians often speak of the glory of God and living for the glory of God, but what is the glory of God ? The Westminster Shorter Catechism rightly tells us that the chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. And yet, ‘glorifying’ God and living for ‘the glory of God’ can often seem mysterious and ultimately disconnected from day-to-day life. There is no theme more central to the message of Scripture than the glory of God. He created the world so that his name would be glorified in and by the things he made, and he has saved us so that we might glorify him in eternity. It is a focus that a self-centered generation badly needs to recover, and the contributors to this volume have given us a wonderful introduction on which to base our reflections and our worship. An understanding of God’s glory affects every area of Christian living: the purpose of the Christian life, worship, ethics, evangelism, missions, past...

There’s nothing wrong with a little aesthetic, nostalgic Christmas romance. God made us sentimental beings to increase our enjoyment of and gratitude for his many past graces. But if the romance and nostalgia become the substance, the pursuit of our Christmas celebrations, then they become deceptive — mirages of joy that disappear as soon as we reach for their illusive promise. And that is what Christmas has become for so many: a joy mirage, or perhaps a joy fantasy. This can be true even for Christians . When we look for joy in our traditions rather than through our traditions, joy short-circuits . Looking for joy in the Christmas trappings and traditions is like opening a beautifully wrapped package with a tag that reads “Joy Inside,” only to find the box empty. That’s because our Christmas traditions don’t so much house joy as much as they point to joy. If we want our joy voids filled, we must look less at Christmas and more through Christmas to where indestructible, unspeakabl...