Glory with Kristen Wetherell
On today’s episode of the Journeywomen podcast, I’m chatting with Kristen Wetherell about the glory of God! We talked about everything from how God’s glory actually drives the storyline of Scripture, to what it looks like for us to live for God’s glory and not our own.
So you’ll know her a little better, Kristen is a writer, Bible teacher, and the content manager of Unlocking the Bible. She is the co-author of Hope When It Hurts: Biblical Reflections to Help You Grasp God’s Purpose in Your Suffering and writes at her website, The Gospel Coalition and Revive Our Hearts. She and her husband, Brad, are members of The Orchard in Itasca, Illinois. They have one nine-month-old daughter.
Y'all, Kristin was so easy to talk to that I genuinely felt like I was sitting at a coffee date with a girlfriend marveling at the grandeur of the glory of God. No biggie. I am so thankful for Kristin’s encouragement to reflect on and marvel at the glory of God.
Can you tell us a little about who you are and what you do?
What is the desire of God's heart? What drives the universe?
What is God’s glory?
How is the story of the Bible about God's glory?
Why does God call us to embrace his glory and not our own?
Unless something happens, what do we live for? What are some ways this manifests itself, practically speaking?
On the flip-side, what do we actually exist for? How can we possibly live for God's glory and not our own? How does the gospel enable us to do that?
So, practically speaking, what does it look like for us to pursue God's glory?
Many of us have a heart for God's glory, and yet, we still find ourselves seeking to glorify ourselves on the daily. What's up that? What is the proper response to detecting when we are functioning as glory thieves?
How can we encourage those in our family/community/friendships to glorify God and magnify Christ?
THREE QUESTIONS I ASK EVERY GUEST
What 3 resources would you recommend for someone who desires to grow in this area?
What are your 3 simple joys?
Who has had the greatest impact on your own journey with Jesus?
NOTEWORTHY QUOTES
“The glory of God is the infinite beauty and greatness of his manifold perfections.” - John Piper
“The glory of God is his beauty. So to glorify God is to be so satisfied, to be so enraptured, and to have such joy in him that we enjoy him and reflect him to others.”
“The desire of God’s heart is to exalt his glory, and we see in Scripture it’s to do it through a redeemed people.”
“God’s word is the epic story of God glorifying himself through the salvation of his people. So we see in creation that God overflows his beauty by making everything that we see. In the fall, we see man, who God created for his glory, choosing to exchange the glory of the immortal God for created things. The desire behind this was to be like God, but in doing so they exchanged that relationship for a lesser glory. In that sense, sin infects all of creation and it becomes our original nature. But then we see really good news in redemption. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. So God chooses to come to earth as a person in his son Jesus to pay for the sins of the glory exchangers. To bring us back to God in perfect worship. And then we see finally in restoration that Jesus becomes our glory, he becomes our light, and he restores all things to where he truly is the sole desire of his people forever.”
“God knows that the best thing we could ever have is him. Because we were made for him, our greatest enjoyment and satisfaction is to enjoy him, to image him, to point to him. God knew that in him is where truest life is found. So he calls us to embrace his glory because its best for us.”
“We have resisted this call to embrace God’s glory for our good because we want our own way. Because it has disordered our desires and caused us to think that whether through vainglory or created glory, we can find all that we are looking for: joy and peace and satisfaction.”
“That’s the only way that we can possibly live for God’s glory. God has to change our hearts. He has to give us a new heart and a desire for his way and for his glory. This is why the gospel is so astounding! Because Jesus came to secure this promise! The way that he did that was by fulfilling it! He completely and totally with perfection and honor to his Father glorified his father while he was walking this earth.”
“We are on our knees before God communing with him in prayer every day. Prayer is the posture of humility. It is saying ‘you are God and I am not. I need you.’ The day that I fail to pray or stop praying is the day that vainglory is really going to start seizing even more of an opportunity.”
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES
Psalm 19:1
Romans 11
Deuteronomy 29:29
John 1
Revelations 21
Romans 1:22-28
Isaiah 42:8
Isaiah 60
John 12:28
KRISTEN'S RESOURCES FOR GLORY
Anything by John Piper
Humility by C.J. Mahaney
The Holiness of God by R.C. Sproul
OTHER RESOURCES
Hope When It Hurts by Kristen Wetherell and Sarah Walton
Kristen Wetherell’s Writing on The Gospel Coalition
Kristen Wetherell’s Writing on Unlocking the Bible
KRISTEN'S SIMPLE JOYS
Lazy afternoon with her husband and daughter
Excellent dining experience
Hot coffee first thing in the morning
IMPORTANT NOTE
Journeywomen interviews are intended to serve as a springboard for continued study in the context of your local church. While we carefully select guests each week, interviews do not imply Journeywomen's endorsement of all writings and positions of the interviewee or any other resources mentioned.
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