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SPRING 2021
HOMESCHOOL IOWA 15
P
erhaps you have heard the phrase, “only for the glory of
God.” This is a theme that runs through the entire Bible,
that all of creation exists for His glory. If this is true, then
God created
your family
to glorify Him. But what exactly is “the
glory of God?”
We see God’s glory in the desert after He brought His people out
of Egypt. “When Moses went up on the mountain, the cloud cov-
ered it, and the glory of the Lord settled on top of the mountain
... the glory of the Lord looked like a consuming fire on top of the
mountain” (Exodus 24:15-17). On Christmas night, the glory of the
Lord appears again. “And in the same region there were shepherds
out in the field...and an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and
the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with
great fear” (Luke 2:8-9).
In Exodus, the glory of the Lord was like a fire. In Bethlehem, it
was a light that shone all around. But it would be incorrect to say
that the fire
was
God, or that the light
was
God. Rather, the fire and
the light pointed to the reality of God. They highlighted His pres-
ence and His power. In the same way, the shepherds, after they
had seen Jesus “returned, glorifying and praising God for all they
had seen and heard.”
To glorify something is to highlight it, to point to it, to reveal its
power and reality. Or in less formal language, to glorify something
is to make it look good!
So let’s put this all together. God created your family to glorify
Him! What does that mean? God created your family to highlight
Him, to point to Him, and to reveal His power and reality. Your fam-
ily exists to make God look good! We can press this mission and
vision into
everything
we do in our homes.
How can we parent in this situation in a way that will
make God look good?
How can we handle this conflict with our spouse that
will
make God look good?
How can we handle our family finances to
make God
look good
to a lost world
?
How can I do this chore or house project to
make God
look good?
What specific ways could we invest our time this year
so that people from another part of the world might
see God’s power and reality through our family?
In fact, everything we do can highlight, point to, and reveal the
love and power of God. God tells us in 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So,
whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do,
do all to the glory
of God
.”
This is a journey of grace, for “all have sinned and fallen short of
the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Because of our ongoing struggle
with sin, we fall short in doing what we were created to do - high-
lighting, pointing to, and revealing the true nature of our Creator.
Talk about these Scriptures as a family. Explain to your children
what it means to “glorify God,” rather than leave it out there as
some churchy, religious phrase that your children may hear but
don’t understand. Give them some examples to help them. How
could they make God look good if someone is being picked on at
school? Talk with your child about how their words and actions“re-
veal” or “show”who God is to their friends who don’t know Jesus.
Then pray, daily, for God to use your family to glorify Him, to
make Him look good, beginning in your home, then overflowing
in your neighborhood and to the ends of the earth.
Dr. Rob Rienow’s most important ministry is loving his wife Amy, and partnering with her
to lead their seven children to love God. He is a pastor, author of Visionary Parenting, and
founder of Visionary Family Ministries.
Your Family
&
the
G l o r y o f G o d
BY DR. ROB RIENOW | HOMESCHOOL IOWA 2021 CONFERENCE KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Teach your kids that
their words and actions show
who God is to their friends
who don’t know Jesus
and ask the question.
“How can our family
make God look good today?”
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