I had lunch the other day with a friend of mine. We were talking about this and that when the conversation took a more spiritual tone. I marveled at my friends’ faith as she sat there and shared with me her feelings about how she arrived at her faith in God. She was telling me how her faith was born out of the trials she has had, and she said that she doesn’t worry about the stuff that doesn’t matter anymore. She then made this comment:
“I don’t wake up every morning thinking ‘What can I do for Ruth Ann today, (name is changed), … no, I think, what can I do to bring God the glory today?’”
My attention was riveted to what she was saying. I listened carefully as she spoke for her to answer her own question: What can I do to bring glory to God today? but, she just kept going as if what she said was a common every day occurrence and she probably assumes everyone thinks that way. Certainly, the Lord knows I don’t wake up that way…but I probably should. I waited and listened, but she never did answer the question directly, and long after the lunch was done and the day over, I was still affected by what she had said.
What does it mean to give “God the Glory” in our every waking moment? How is this accomplished? What do I need to do in my life to “give God the Glory?” These were questions that occupied the thoughts of my heart and my scripture studies over the next few days.
In so doing, I remembered the scripture in Psalms 118:24,
This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
How do we rejoice in the day the Lord has made?
The Lord says in a book called Moses 1:39, from the Latter-day scripture, The Pearl of Great Price,
This is my work and my Glory, to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.
Purify my heart before Thee, O Lord…
Every week, during our worship services, we partake of the holy Sacrament. An ordinance where we partake of the bread and water to renew our baptismal covenant with the Lord. In Luke 22:19, the Lord says, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me and in verse 20 He continues, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.
Likewise, in the Book of Mormon, we are taught in detail what this covenant to remember the Savior means,
And it came to pass that he said unto them: Behold, here are the waters of Mormon (for thus were they called) and now, as ye are desirous to come into the fold of God, and to be called his people, and are willing to bear one another’s burdens, that they may be light;
Yea, and are willing to mourn with those that mourn; yea, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, and to stand as witnesses of God at all times and in all things, and in all places that ye may be in, even until death, that ye may be redeemed of God, and be numbered with those of the first resurrection, that ye may have eternal life—
Now I say unto you, if this be the desire of your hearts, what have you against being baptized in the name of the Lord, as a witness before him that ye have entered into a covenant with him, that ye will serve him and keep his commandments that he may pour out his Spirit more abundantly upon you? (Alma 18:8-10).
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, our Sacrament prayers, said every week before we partake, renew this baptismal covenant to “remember.”
For the bread:
O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this bread to the souls of all those who partake of it, that they may eat in remembrance of the body of thy Son, and witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they are willing to take upon them the name of thy Son, and always remember him and keep his commandments which he has given them; that they may always have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.
For the water:
O God, the Eternal Father, we ask thee in the name of thy Son, Jesus Christ, to bless and sanctify this wine to the souls of all those who drink of it, that they may do it in remembrance of the blood of thy Son, which was shed for them; that they may witness unto thee, O God, the Eternal Father, that they do always remember him, that they may have his Spirit to be with them. Amen.
The key word in all of these scriptures is “remember.”
The covenant is clear: Partake of the emblems of my body and blood to remember and to testify in and through your daily living that you do indeed remember and follow the Savior.
This daily “remembrance” is how we bring “Glory to God”…
Part 2 to follow….
Refined and Purified 