Does God Want To Glorify His People?

This is an excerpt from my new book A Quest for the Ultimate. The retreat director Jacob asks the group about their observations in Revelation chapters 21 and 22. The issue is what God emphasizes in the next age. Does he focus more on himself or on his people? Does he want to glorify his people?

Browse through chapters 21 and 22 of Revelation and tell me which is emphasized more: God’s glory or the glory and honor of the people of God? I will give you a couple of minutes.
Everyone digs into their bibles. After five minutes Jacob asks again, “Which is emphasized more?”
“There is a lot of description of the bride, especially in the description of the city,” Kwan observes.
“Most of these two chapters are about all the blessings God is going to give us and how beautiful the bride is,” Melissa adds.
Heads nod.
Somewhat surprised, Gabriella replies, “I’m starting to get the idea that he adores us.”
Jacob replies, “That reminds me of a verse we read yesterday, Isaiah 62:5,

As a young man marries a young woman,
so will your Builder marry you;
as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride,
so will your God rejoice over you. (NIV)

DeShawn responds, “These two chapters are more about our glory, which seems strange because I would think that at the end of the bible there would be a long description of how glorious God is, and language about his people worshipping him. In these last two chapters it even says that his people will reign forever and ever, even though God’s throne is there and he is king.”

“It does seem strange,” Jacob agrees. “When I first noticed this I was a little shocked. I often hear the idea that our lives are all about glorifying God. But it seems like the finale of the bible is about God’s people more than God himself. God wants to glorify his people. Obviously, everything in these chapters glorifies God, but the point seems to be that the final message of the bible is that God wants to glorify us, honor us and marry us. Receiving his love and glory seems to be almost as important as glorifying God. Apparently, God wants us to get this into our hearts. It’s almost too much to believe, yet when I think about the whole bible, these chapters are the obvious conclusion to the gigantic theme that God loves us and wants to save us and finally put us in paradise.

What do you think about this idea? If you have been taught that everything in the bible is about glorifying God, how does the idea that God wants to glorify his people fit in with this? How often have you heard sermons about God glorifying his people in the next age? Does this promise encourage you? Are you willing to embrace it?