To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Philippians 4:20 NIV
Glory Forever
As the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris came to a close, Team Canada etched its name into the annals of Olympic history with a record-setting 27 medals. This performance not only surpasses their previous best of 24 from Tokyo but also marks a significant achievement in Canadian sporting history. One headline read “Canada’s Olympic Glory.” Among the standout performances, 17-year-old swimming prodigy Summer McIntosh was a beacon of Canadian excellence. McIntosh dazzled the world with a stellar series of swims, including three gold medals in the 400 meters individual medley, 200 meters butterfly, and 200 meters individual medley.
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Back in the book of Genesis, God calls the patriarch Abraham to take his son Isaac up Mount Moriah and offer him as a sacrifice. Through it all, as the suspense builds, faithful Abraham trusts God. Finally, in the most poignant moment, Isaac recognizes that they have brought all they needed to make the sacrifice, except the sacrifice, and so Isaac asks his father about this. After God provides the ram caught in the thicket, Genesis 22:14 says, “So Abraham called the place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, ‘On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.’” Can you imagine the honour and glory Abraham and Isaac must have expressed when God provided that sacrifice? At the end of his epistle to the Philippians, Paul expresses his gratitude for the sacrifice made by these believers in supporting his ministry, and in light of this, he expresses glory to God for His provision for Paul’s ministry and for the Church at Philippi in Philippians 4:20: “To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley