Jealous God
By Mike Rule

Our God is a jealous God; therefore, He must guard His glory. Without it He would not be God. However, He is not jealous of His glory for His own benefit. After all, God would not be any less Himself if we never saw His glory again. God's glory is what makes Him who He is. If He shared that with anyone He would have to let something other than Himself be worshipped. So the real question becomes: why does He protect His glory and keep it to Himself?

I have a very high horsepower automobile in my garage. It is extremely modified and radically altered to be exactly what I designed and desired it to be. I suppose you could say it is my glory. My son is 11 years old now. He absolutely loves his dad's car. Would I be a very wise father if I handed him the keys and let him have it? Of course not! He is not safe to handle my glory. I don't share it with him because that is what is best for him. I let him ride in it; he is free to enjoy my glory as long as I drive. But, if he took my glory my punishment would be swift and severe. I am not as concerned about my glory as I am about him.

So why is God jealous of His glory? It is because that is what is best for us. God will not share His glory because it goes against His nature. Love is His nature. He loves us. Jesus is the ultimate expression of God's Glory and God's love. Glory and Love are one in Jesus.