Psalm 86:12 English Standard Version (ESV) I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.
John 13:31-32 English Standard Version
31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.
Jesus declared His glory right after the last supper. He was on the path to the Cross. He would be taken that night. Every step He took leading up to His crucifixion glorified God the Father by obedience of faith.
Jesus glorified the Father in Himself and in so doing, the Father was glorified in Christ. The reason He could do so was that part of Him which was fully God and was shared equally in the unity of the Trinity. Note closely that they were glorified immediately, “at once”.
Here we are thousands of years removed from that moment in time and we live in this church age in which God the Father wants God the Son to be glorified today, immediately, at once.
To understand what glory is in respect to the Father and Son we should define glory as the essence of God in character and personality. It is not merely His reputation and good name, it is the representation of God the Son dwelling in us, His essence.
How does the world get to see the Son in us?
As with all things human, seeing is believing. They will only see Him if our actions are based on obedience of faith. In obedience we glorify God the Son, who Glorifies the Father, who glorifies us because Christ abides in us. We cannot show Christ without obedience of faith.
Where we get tripped up is in believing that being good is the same thing as being obedient.
Granted, when we make human mistakes it reflects poorly on our own character, but that is us, not Christ. It is important to keep these two issues at the forefront of all our ministries, repentance and forgiveness. We are going to make mistakes. Own them, confess them, get over it and get on with the business at hand, obedience of faith.
We should never tell a non-believer that faith in Christ is instant perfection. We will always have the ability to sin but we do not have the inclination to sin. The ability to make right choices gets better as we grow in Christ. Maturity is found over time. It is not a matter of effort but rather a matter of relationship. The better the relationship, the faster the maturing process.