Photo taken at Yosemite National Park

I can’t remember the last time I’ve ever used that word, MAGNIFICENCE. When I think about the word, it assumes a next-level quality. It’s not like the words “awesome” or “great” that get tossed about in day-to-day use. Could you imagine someone confirming plans with you and saying, “Magnificent!”? I can’t.

Magnificent feels more like a word that is reserved for extravagance, royalty, and supreme significance. There’s a glorious quality about magnificence. When something is magnificent, it is beyond average, beyond typical, beyond meeting expectations. It is above and beyond. It is abounding, grand, awe-inspiring, and divine.

When I try to imagine what I would consider magnificent, my mind is drawn to the wonders of the world, national parks and beautiful scenic views. There is also the magnificent work of art, piece of music, city skyline, or culinary feat. Magnificence requires creativity and intentionality, and exudes a beauty that engages one’s whole being with the divine.

In the Bible, it is often the temples that are described as magnificent. So much effort and intentionality was placed into the design of all aspects of the temple. Temples are the house of God, magnificent in their architecture and symbolic of the glory to be given to God. King David said, “the house to be built for the Lord should be of great magnificence and fame and splendor in the sight of all the nations.” (1 Chronicles 22:5).

Why? Because God is magnificent.

And, you too are magnificent. You are created for magnificence by God’s design. You are part of the temple that is not made with hands (Mark 14:58) and part of the body of Christ, the temple that was destroyed and raised up in three days (John 2:20-21). What if we lived into this truth? What if we lived with the same intentionality, building a temple that is magnificent to the glory of God?

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? (1 Cor 3:16a).

It’s time to be next-level. Let’s live into our God-given magnificence.

Liz Chang is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and works with individuals, couples and families at a group private practice in Manhattan (Holding Hope Marriage and Family Therapy, https://www.nyc-couples-therapy.com/). Liz has enjoyed experiencing life in the midwest and the pacific northwest during her young adulthood. She studied Marriage and Family Therapy at Seattle Pacific University and misses Seattle’s beautiful summer months. Liz is a Korean-American born and raised in New York City where she and her husband now reside. They enjoy going for walks, exploring new neighborhoods, cooking, traveling, playing spikeball, and watching their cats be cute (Instagram @bennyslyf).