We are glory carriers!
There is glory in all of us and around all of us.
The game changer is how we define glory and what we know about glory. These two things will in part determine the direction of our lives.
These are statements that give the overarching thoughts of Paul Manwaring's new book entitled, What on Earth is Glory? Paul Manwaring gives 17 jam-packed chapters of insight into what glory really is - and how we see it lived out in the Bible and here on earth today.
The basic structure of the book goes a little something like this. He defines glory as the eternal value that someone or something has because it reveals, points to, and reflects the attributes, nature, and power of God. Throughout each chapter we, the reader, are given countless examples of areas where we can grow in our knowledge of the glory of God. Some examples are: being glorious sons & daughters, the glory of relationships, beauty & glory, honor & glory, shekinah glory, glory & goverment - and well...you get the point, Manwaring does not leave you lacking on approaches towards understanding glory.
Perhaps what gives you the best perspective of what this book is about is to point you to Chapter 16 where Manwaring says, "One of my chief reasons for writing this book is to bring more definition to the nature of glory, whilst also liberating glory from the confines of church buildings, Heaven in the future, or any of the other limits we like to put on it." Each of these topics he delves into throughout the course of the book and after having finished it, I would say he accomplished those two goals in a most honorable fashion.
One thing I really appreciate about the book is how he incorporates writings from his father, as well as his sons in the spirit of letting three generations of Manwaring's speak on this topic of glory. Bethel Church models well the biblical mandate/opportunity of passing on our faith from one generation to the next - and thus I am not surprised to see this modeled in What on Earth is Glory? You too will enjoy this aspect.
In reflecting on this book, I would definitely recommend it to you whether you are a pastor, missionary, or lay member of the church. Ultimately, I am taking away two main things: 1) a variety of nuggets of truth on the subject of glory, and 2) an expanded knowledge about different instances of glory from the Word, both of which I hope to let challenge me and shape me for the days to come. I am confident you'll enjoy the book and walk away saying the same.
