"Admired"

 

    "He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe" (II Thessalonians 1:10).

 

     When we see the Lord Jesus Christ face to face, admiration will fill our hearts with awe, wonder and a deep sense of affectionate respect.

 

     The vision has already begun for those who open the pages of Scripture to discover the person and work of Christ.  He declared that the Bible's primary subject and intent is to "testify of Me" (John 5:39).  Thus, we read, ponder, believe, obey and seek to communicate the Word of God in order to glorify the Lord Jesus, and to experience Him in living truth and reality.  A primary aspect of such experience involves increasing admiration for our Savior, whose sublime character, nature and way shine forth from the pages of Scripture to amaze us that such a Person could exist.  "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain!" declared the citizens of Heaven (Revelation 5:12).  We join the chorus as we "grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ," and thus admire Him more and more (II Peter 3:18).

 

    God was kind to form in us the capacity for admiration.  The sensibility warms the heart and challenges the soul to arise and be like the object of its respect.  Today offers the opportunity for greater awareness of who our Lord is, and of His past, present and future doings on our behalf.  An open Bible read and believed, a trusting heart that sees opportunity for faith along every pathway, and the affirmation that "to live is Christ" unveils to us a life graced by grateful appreciation (Philippians 1:21).  "I... will yet praise Thee more and more" declared David as the expression of one enraptured by the discovery of a Christ so wondrous as to thrill and fill the heart (Psalm 71:14).  Indeed, in both Heaven and earth, there is no one like the Lord Jesus.  Admiration is therefore both the root and fruit of a heart that becomes more like Him as we "see Him as He is" (I John 3:2).

 

"There is none like unto Thee, Lord; Thou art great."

(Jeremiah 10:6)