When most Christians think about the glory of God, they picture spectacular moments—miraculous healings, supernatural encounters, or overwhelming spiritual experiences that leave people trembling on the floor. While God certainly can and does manifest His presence in extraordinary ways, what if I told you that His glory is actually something much more accessible, practical, and transformative than occasional supernatural experiences?

After years of studying Scripture and observing the lives of believers who seem to carry an unusual presence of God, I've discovered that the glory of God isn't primarily about what happens to us in special moments, but about what happens through us in ordinary moments. It's not an experience we occasionally have—it's a lifestyle we can live.

This revelation comes from three interconnected biblical truths that will revolutionize how you understand God's nature and your calling as a believer. These aren't abstract theological concepts but practical realities that can transform your daily walk with God and your impact on the world around you.

Truth #1: God's Glory is God's Character

The Most Important Request in History

The story begins with one of the most audacious prayers ever recorded. Moses, fresh from dealing with the golden calf disaster, made a request that would change everything: "Show me your glory" (Exodus 33:18).

Think about this for a moment. Moses had already witnessed the ten plagues that brought Egypt to its knees. He'd seen the Red Sea split down the middle. He'd watched God provide manna from heaven every single day for months. He'd experienced the pillar of cloud by day and fire by night—visible, tangible manifestations of divine presence guiding Israel through the wilderness.

Yet after all these incredible supernatural experiences, Moses still prayed, "Show me your glory."

What was he asking for? What more could there possibly be?

God's Surprising Response

Here's where it gets fascinating. God's response wasn't to create an even more spectacular light show or demonstrate greater supernatural power. Instead, God said something that reveals the true nature of His glory:

"I will make all my goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before you" (Exodus 33:19).

Notice what God promised to show Moses: His goodness and His name—which in Hebrew culture represented someone's essential character and reputation. God was saying, "Moses, if you want to see my glory, I'm going to show you who I am in my innermost being."

When God fulfilled this promise in Exodus 34:6-7, He didn't appear as a blazing light or overwhelming force. Instead, He proclaimed His character:

"The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin..."

This is one of the most important moments in all of Scripture because it establishes a fundamental principle: God's glory is God's character made visible.

What This Means for You

This understanding completely transforms how we approach spiritual growth and Christian living. If God's glory is His character, then the primary way we glorify God isn't by seeking extraordinary experiences but by developing extraordinary character.

The apostle Paul confirms this in 2 Corinthians 3:18, where he writes that believers "with unveiled faces, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another." The transformation Paul describes isn't about gaining supernatural abilities—it's about character formation that reflects God's nature.

This means that every time you choose mercy over revenge, grace over judgment, patience over anger, or love over selfishness, you're manifesting the glory of God. You're making visible the invisible character of God through your choices, attitudes, and actions.

Truth #2: God's Character is God's Love

The Heart of Everything

If God's glory is His character, then what's at the heart of that character? The apostle John gives us the answer in one of the most profound statements in all of Scripture: "God is love" (1 John 4:8).

This isn't just saying that God has love or shows love—it's declaring that love is what God is in His essential being. Love isn't something God sometimes does; it's who God always is.

But here's what's remarkable: when we look back at all those character attributes God revealed to Moses—mercy, grace, patience, goodness, faithfulness, and even justice—we discover that each one is actually a different expression of divine love in various situations.

Love in Action

Mercy is love's response to human suffering and need. When God shows mercy, He's expressing His love toward those who are hurting or broken.

Grace is love's generosity toward the undeserving. It's love giving good gifts not because we've earned them, but because love delights in blessing others.

Patience is love's commitment to relationship despite disappointment. It's love choosing to give another chance, and another, and another.

Goodness is love's desire for our authentic well-being. It's love seeking what's truly best for us, even when that requires difficult circumstances.

Faithfulness is love's reliability over time. It's love keeping its promises and maintaining its commitments regardless of how we respond.

Even God's justice flows from love—love for the oppressed requires justice for the oppressor; love for the innocent demands judgment upon the guilty.

As Augustine beautifully expressed it: "He who is filled with love is filled with God himself."

The Three Dimensions of Love

This understanding of God's character as love reveals why Jesus summarized all spiritual life in terms of love relationships. To manifest God's character—to live the lifestyle of glory—we need to cultivate love in three dimensions:

• Love for God - This vertical relationship draws us into intimacy with our Creator and aligns our hearts with His purposes.

• Love for others - This horizontal relationship extends God's love into our communities and demonstrates His character to the watching world.

• Love for ourselves as God's beloved children - This isn't selfish self-love but healthy acceptance of our identity as image-bearers of God, redeemed and recreated in Christ.

When all three dimensions operate together, they create a lifestyle that naturally reflects God's character and manifests His glory.

Truth #3: God's Love is Light.

The Connection Between Love and Light

Here's where things get really interesting. The same apostle John who declared "God is love" also proclaimed "God is light, and in him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5). This isn't coincidental—it reveals a profound spiritual principle: pure love generates spiritual light.

Think about it this way: love is the internal reality of God's character, and light is how that reality becomes visible and perceptible. Love is what God is; light is how we experience what God is.

This principle operates not only in God's nature but also in human experience. When believers cultivate genuine love—love for God, love for others, and proper love for themselves—that love generates spiritual light that can actually be perceived in the spiritual realm.

Biblical Examples

The Bible gives us several examples of this principle in action. Consider Stephen, the first Christian martyr. Acts 6:15 tells us that when he was brought before the Sanhedrin to face false accusations, "all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel."

What caused Stephen's face to shine? The text makes it clear that Stephen was characterized by extraordinary love, even for his enemies. As he was being stoned to death, his final prayer wasn't for vengeance but for forgiveness: "Lord, do not hold this sin against them" (Acts 7:60).

Stephen's face shone not because he possessed supernatural power, but because he embodied divine love so completely that it became visible as light. His perfect expression of love—even loving his enemies unto death—generated spiritual light that was visible even to his persecutors.

The Purity Principle

There's a spiritual principle at work here: the purer the love, the brighter the light. This is why God's perfect love generates perfect light that no human being can look upon directly. But it also explains why believers who cultivate extraordinary love sometimes manifest visible light.

This isn't just ancient history. Throughout church history, there have been accounts of believers whose faces or entire beings seemed to glow with divine light during moments of intense prayer, worship, or ministry. These manifestations typically occur in people known for their extraordinary love for God and others.

The principle also works in reverse. John writes, "Whoever loves his brother abides in the light... But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness" (1 John 2:10-11). Love produces light; hatred produces darkness.

Practical Implications

Understanding that love generates light has profound implications for how we approach spiritual warfare, evangelism, and Christian witness.

In terms of spiritual warfare, cultivating love becomes a powerful strategy for overcoming spiritual darkness. Rather than focusing primarily on confrontational approaches, we can engage in warfare through the cultivation and expression of divine love. As love increases, light increases, and spiritual darkness is naturally displaced.

For evangelism and witness, this means that churches and Christians characterized by authentic love will naturally generate spiritual light that attracts seekers and transforms communities. This light becomes a form of evangelism that transcends verbal proclamation and demonstrates the reality of God's presence.

Living the Lifestyle of Glory

It's Not About Perfection

Before you feel overwhelmed by these truths, remember that living the lifestyle of glory isn't about achieving perfection. It's about progression. Paul writes that we're "being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another" (2 Corinthians 3:18). This is a lifelong journey of growth, not a destination we reach.

The good news is that this transformation isn't dependent on your willpower alone. It happens through "beholding the glory of the Lord"—through consistently exposing yourself to God's character revealed in Scripture, prayer, and Christian community.

Practical Steps

So how do you begin living this lifestyle of glory? Here are some practical steps:

1. Study God's Character - Spend time meditating on passages like Exodus 34:6-7 and 1 John 4. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal more of God's character to you through His Word.

2. Cultivate Love in All Three Dimensions - Intentionally grow in your love for God through worship and prayer, your love for others through service and forgiveness, and your love for yourself as God's beloved child.

3. Choose Character Over Experience - When faced with decisions, ask yourself: "What choice would reflect God's character?" rather than "What choice would give me the best experience?"

4. Practice Forgiveness - Nothing generates spiritual light like forgiving those who have wronged you. This is love in its purest form.

5. Serve Others Sacrificially - Look for opportunities to express God's love through practical service, especially to those who can't repay you.

The Ultimate Goal

The ultimate goal isn't to have extraordinary experiences (though God may grant those) but to become extraordinary people—people whose character reflects God's nature, whose love generates spiritual light, and whose lives demonstrate that the glory of God is indeed a lifestyle.

In a world increasingly characterized by hatred, division, and spiritual darkness, the church's witness depends not merely on its verbal proclamation but on its embodiment of divine love that generates spiritual light. As believers individually and corporately embrace this calling, they become living demonstrations of the truth that God's glory is not an abstract concept but a transformative lifestyle.

When you understand that God's glory is His character, that His character is love, and that His love is light, everything changes. You stop seeking God's glory and start living it. You stop trying to experience God's presence and start becoming a carrier of that presence. You stop waiting for extraordinary moments and start creating them through extraordinary love.

This is the lifestyle of glory—not an occasional experience but a daily reality, not something that happens to you but something that happens through you, not a destination you reach but a journey you embrace.

The question isn't whether you'll experience God's glory, but whether you'll live it. The choice is yours.