Glimpses of Glory: A 7-Day DevotionalSample

Godliness > Goodness

Let’s start with a little bit of a recap. Over the past few days, we’ve learned five things: (1) We are not as strong as we think we are, and sinful humanity tends to craft gods in their own image; (2) We must learn to prioritize God’s glory over our personal gain because that aligns us with the heart of God; (3) We must learn to value the Giver over the gift because doing so serves as the first step in truly beginning to seek God with all our heart; (4) We should desire to draw as near to Him as possible because that drawing near serves as the key to living a godly life; and (5) We must understand God’s character and respond appropriately, for this stands as our only chance of actually drawing near to Him.

When it comes to our own goodness, we stand no chance of drawing near to God. If we desire to draw near to God, this action must serve as a response to the gracious love He has extended toward us. Our obedience must flow from a desire to please Him and conform to His image—godliness—rather than from some misconstrued belief that we can actually live up to His standard—goodness.

Moses, a superb leader, passed God’s tests with flying colors, culminating in God re-instituting His covenant with Israel. Yet did you notice God’s emphasis? Amidst His commands lies one central priority: Devotion to Him. Their obedience should not flow from a desire to prove themselves before Him because if this stands as their main motivation, they’ve already failed. Rather, their obedience should flow from a posture of whole-hearted devotion to the gracious God who willingly looked past their sins.

We must learn to rely on God and respond properly to His instruction. This God willingly sent His Son into the world to die on our behalf purely so that He could shower us with His grace when we responded to His call. As with the Israelites, He has initiated a covenantal relationship with us that depends entirely on His grace but which likewise demands a life of obedience. But if we desire to respond in obedience, we must recognize the difference between goodness and godliness: Goodness, relying on self, demands merely obedience of action; godliness, relying on God, demands obedience of heart. In and of ourselves, we cannot attain goodness; by the grace of God, we can attain godliness. And so, we respond to His instruction not because we want something from Him, but because we have received everything already. We obey not because we want to make ourselves worthy, but because He is worthy. We do not want to make gods in our image; we want God to make us in His image.