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“Thine the kingdom Thine the prize Thine the wonder full surprise Thine the banquet then the praise Then the justice of Thy ways Thine the glory Thine the story Then the welcome to the least Then the wonder all increasing At Thy feast at Thy feast.
“Thine the glory in the night No more dying only light Thine the river Thine the tree Then the Lamb eternally Then the holy holy holy Celebration jubilee Thine the splendor Thine the brightness Only Thee only Thee.”
Our sinful nature leads us to become very me-centered as we look first to our own needs and interests. We have a lot of practice doing this and we are very good at it. Our lives illustrate the fact that we have “exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator” (Romans 1:25b). Openly or secretly, we worship and serve ourselves. We are called to repent of this inward focus and in Christ we receive forgiveness. The Holy Spirit leads us to turn outward in love as we follow Jesus, who on the cross put our needs and interests ahead of His own.
Even rightly turned outward in service to others, we are still tempted to imagine that everything, including the story of our salvation, is about our worthiness and our choices. Yet the salvation story and its glory belong to God, our Creator and Redeemer. A familiar verse from Scripture reminds us that “God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son” (John 3:16a). It is God who loved the world. It is God who gave His Son. With faith created in our hearts by the Spirit of God, we simply receive His gifts of love and grace.
We will fully understand the glory of this truth when we stand before God’s throne and cry out in praise with all the saints: “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” (Revelation 7:10b). God created us. Through the gift of His Son, He redeemed us and by His Spirit He creates faith in our hearts. Our hymn celebrates the truth that all glory belongs to God alone: “Thine the kingdom … the prize … the banquet … the praise … the glory … the story … the welcome to the least.” Living eternally in God’s presence we will know that He is “all in all” (1 Corinthians 15:28b). For us, there will be “no more dying, only light.” We will experience “the wonder all increasing” at His feast, the wedding supper of the Lamb. With self-centered natures turned finally and fully outward in praise, we will know and understand, in a way we have never understood before, that all glory belongs to God alone. “Only Thee only Thee.”
WE PRAY: Lord God, by Your grace alone, I will one day know the ever-increasing wonder of life in Your presence. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler. It is based on the hymn, “Thine the Amen,” which is number 680 in the Lutheran Service Book.
Reflection Questions:
- What is something that gets in the way of your devotion to God?
- How does the Holy Spirit help you keep Jesus first in your life?
- How can serving others be a defense that guards us from becoming too self-centered?
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