Glory

28th July 2.03am

Man seems to have an eternal obsession and preoccupation with glory.

What is His glory? I have depended often enough on the fertility of my imagination to try to fathom this. Not that I can--no eye has seen, and no ear has heard, nor has it entered into the heart of man, the glorious inheritance that we have been called into. Yet Paul writes that he prays we should understand this. Why is this glory my hope? How else can I hope in something I am told I have not understood, except by faith that it exists, that its has already begun in me because of Christ in me who is already glorified? I understand so little, but my heart is so full of peace. He will reveal what I need to understand one step at a time.

This thought/concept has inspired countless instances of joy in me. I think of Adam and Eve, who were first created in His image, clothed in gentle light. I think of the burning bush, the pillar of fire, and the pillar of cloud, and the ark of the covenant. I think of Paul who was blinded, I think of Moses's shining face, the rolling thunders, violent quakes, blasting trumpet through the thick cloud enveloping Sinai. I think of a God who is too much for us to bear in His fullness, simply by virtue of who He is. In His presence man is at once in the safest and most dangerous place he could ever be.

This is where I learnt to fear the Lord.

We meet God at the cost of our lives. The more immediate His presence, the less metaphorical the death, but it is true. To meet Him is to have the self die first, both from and in its extreme unpreparedness at meeting Him. In His mercy He both holds Himself back and draws near, showing us what we can bear, and already our souls are overwhelmed. To meet Him is to re-live the mystery of the cross with Christ, to pin to the cross our death, that one might become new and alive in Him. I say mercy, because this is the God whose desire to reveal Himself to us, to have us know Him, has never changed.

In that death is our glory and inheritance. Just as on the cross the hour of shame and death was the also hour of His greatest glory. Because Christ lives when we die to sin. We already have Him, He works to perfect that vision of Him. He takes our heart by its shoulders and shakes our shackles till they fall off. He works in us, for none can change the evil desires of the heart except with Christ Jesus substitutes for it. As physicists like to say, nature abhors a vacuum.

Yes Christ is His glory, our glory. We talk about glory so much and no one ever really says what glory is! We should! =)

I used to say I lived for His glory. I wanted men to know He gave me all I needed. I thought I knew what it meant to believe He did. 3 years ago, every exam, test, encouragement, disappointment, failure, exultation, trial, when people referred to these things in my life, I'd tell them it was His grace, and that grace went to His glory. But really, I never allowed His grace into my life--I barely knew I could trust Him this much! The guiding philosophy was "God helps those who help themselves", and so it was my strength at work. I tired easily then, and tried to convince myself the things I had done had eternal significance. After all I was giving Him the credit, right? I still live for His glory, but it is different now.

So how is this glory manifest in me? How does it work through me, that people see Him in my life? See Him!--the world has to see not just the changes in me, but see Him as a distinct "other" from myself, dynamic, alive, and real, far from being a psychological crutch. The God who truly does what no man can do for himself, from salvation to healing and holding rain. =)

It should go from knowing the gifts and a means to steward them by, to knowing the Giver Himself, and why He gave them at all in the first place. They must know this God of the impossible is also the ultimate Friend and Lover of Souls who stepped out from what I could not enter to humble Himself to relate to me through my own limited human means of understanding. This is He who would embrace them and look into the depths of their hearts with equal gentleness and compassion.


How, how can I make all this more real? I wish bible studies taught a little more about knowing Him in practice... we should practice the word more than preach. The word must compel us to live it so much more, and if so, the inevitable result is fruit.

The bible speaks of crowns, mansions, sitting with Him at His throne, running the race for a prize... I know I decided long ago that I didn't care for crowns or mansions... Jesus Christ was enough. I have never known such goodness! Nor a gentler master, a more loving provider, and a dearer friend who knows me well enough to show me who I really am. To top it all, I have a saviour, in whose likeness I am to grow into--this is to have meaning, purpose and life itself!

There is no greater joy, no meeker quietude, no sweeter peace than to simply sit at His feet and have the privilege of His company. It is more than I could ever have asked for. All I want is Jesus, all I love is Jesus, that I should not care if He consumes my every thought, every heartbeat and every waking moment. And I have Him now. To walk through life with Him is a joy, because in His faithfulness each moment is an opportunity to become surer of all that He is to me. I should not care where I should be in heaven... as long as I get to hang around Him all the time, or be sent off on His errands, knowing that with an errand one must always return to deliver it. =)


I live for Christ.

My sweet, awesome Saviour, You are my eternal glory and eternal prize. =)