What IS God's glory?

Since i became a Christian, i heard of God's glory but never mulled over what God's glory actually is. So... what is God's glory? What does it look like; what does it sound like; what does it smell like; what does it taste like; what does it feel like?

My Mac dictionary says glory is:

• high renown or honor won by notable achievements : to fight and die for the glory of one's nation.
• praise, worship, and thanksgiving offered to God.
• magnificence; great beauty
  
• a thing that is beautiful or distinctive; a special cause for pride, respect, or delight
  
• the splendor and bliss of heaven : with the saints in glory.
• a luminous ring or halo, esp. as depicted around the head of Jesus Christ or a saint. ;0)
  

Sorry Mac, but that doesn't quite cover It.

Scripture has tons to say about glory.

Luke 24:26

²⁶"Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?"

2 Corinthians 4:17:
¹⁷For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison,

1 Peter 1:11; 4:13; 5:1:
¹¹seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.

¹³but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.

¹Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed,

1 Samuel 15:29:
²⁹"Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind."

Romans 3:23; 8:17-18:
²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, . . .

¹⁷and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

¹⁸For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.



From this we gather that Glory is a place and/or a person. Or it is something that is gained after suffering. In other places glory seems to be something that can be weighed like jewels or gold. It would seem that glory belongs to God and/or is one of the names of God.

We can assume that glory is an excellent thing; perhaps something we cannot fully understand by reading . . . or something that we simply cannot wrap our minds around at all. Maybe it isn't head knowledge. Maybe It is to be experienced.

Maybe Glory is the smell of morning dew on lilacs. Perhaps Glory is a light rubbing on your back while in great pain. Glory could be in the music of Vivaldi's Gloria. Conceivably It is the taste of a grape after eating only rice and Ramen for months.

Today, Glory was in the tears of an 88 year-old man recalling God's sovereignty 60 years ago - the day of his salvation. Today, Glory was in a schizophrenic boy who spoke coherently of the weight of the Gospel. Today, Glory filled my heart as i experienced It/Him through His creation.