Fact: God is real.  Most people would agree with that statement, whether they're talking about my God or a god of their own…

I realized something this week.  It was Wednesday morning at Ankgor Wat when my team and I were watching the sunrise.  As hundreds of tourists gathered to capture the moment, I realized that human beings have the undeniable desire to glorify something bigger than themselves.  All of us in that moment had to step outside ourselves to appreciate the climbing sun over the ancient temples.

But these ancient temples are not glorifying my God.  Each day they stand and praise a false god.  Their makers labored intensively thousands of years ago in hopes to satisfy a dead man. 

All of the religions in the world praise something, from idols to stones to nature to science.  And in most cases, believers have to strive and struggle in order to gain approval from their gods.  But our faith is different.

Not only is our God real, eternal, and alive, but he is also good, righteous, and holy.  No wonder his broken creation still longs to glorify something…he is nothing but beautiful.

The closer I get to this beautiful God, the more this whole thing makes sense:

Humans are messed up.  We have been ever since Adam and Eve decided to eat that apple.  But through the fog, we still ache to worship…something.  Yes, we are selfish beings,  but if forced to set ourselves aside, we realize that we're not so big after all.  There's something way bigger out there, but our sin distorts the image of the real God.

But for those uf us who know Him, we can at least begin to understand.  If we truly believe in him and the resurrection of his Son, then the more we know God, the more we naturally draw nearer to him.  The closer we get, the more we adore him.  And the more we adore him, the more we hunger to give him glory.  We were designed to be one with our Maker.  And if being one with him means we yearn to glorify him, then we were designed to glorify him.

So it seems I've come full circle.  We as humans want to praise something because it's what God made us for.

How cool is it that the true God is also the best God?  The one who asks nothing of us except our friendship and faith; who painted the stars and molded the mountains like clay under his fingertips; who looks at our sinful, unworthy hearts and still says, "You're Mine"?

I don't know about you, but I can't help but glorify that God.  I can't help it.