"The Hope of Glory" Part 1 - "We"

The Special of the Day… From the Orange Moon Cafe… 

"The Hope of Glory"      

Part 1 - "We"

   

    

   Born again believers in the Lord Jesus Christ live as a "we" rather than as a "me" or a "He".

    "I am with you always… I will dwell in them and walk in them… the Spirt of God dwelleth in you" (Matthew 28:20; II Corinthians 6:16; I Corinthians 3:16). 

    This is more than a concept, more than a static condition, and even more than doctrine (without meaning to minimize the vital importance of doctrinal truth).  The fact of God's indwelling and abiding presence is living reality.  In fact, being in Christ and Christ being in us constitutes the great fact of our existence.   Can anything be more wondrous, glorious, and invigorating to consider?   We are never alone, and we do not have to live life by ourselves, or by our own inadequate designs and devices.

   "Fear thou not, for I am with thee.  Be not dismayed, for I am thy God.  Yea, I will help thee, yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of My righteousness" (Isaiah 41:10).

   God assured Israel of His presence even before He made possible the gift of the permanently indwelling Holy Spirit accomplished through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus.  "He dwelleth with you" said the Savior to His disciples of the promised Spirit, "and shall be in you" (John 14:17).  What would He now say to us in light of the gift having been given, and the Holy Spirit dwelling within our trusting hearts?  We know the answer.  The New Testament epistles are the answer.  They were written not merely to believers, but to believers as inhabited by Spirit of the Lord Jesus.  The Apostle Paul referred to such wonder as "the hope of glory, which is Christ in you" (Colossians 1:27).  Thus, we may live this day with confidence of bringing glory to God through the active presence of the risen Christ.   Such hope will not and cannot be fulfilled in any other way.  "Without Me, ye can do nothing" (John 15:5).

   We do not have to face this day as if alone.  We will not do so.  However, we can forget or disbelieve the blessed truth that Christ lives in us and we live in Him.  We can relate to God and people as if we are just ourselves.  We can deal with home or work issues as if we are alone.  We can experience blessings without realizing  the presence of the Bless-er.  We can face problems, pains, and difficulties without living in the reality of God's "very present help in trouble" (Psalm 46:1).  We can seek to fulfill God's calling in our lives by doing our best rather than seeking to do His best, as led and empowered by the indwelling Holy Spirit.  As Jacob of old confessed,  "Surely the Lord is in this place.  And I knew it not!" (Genesis 28:16).

   Certainly we have all too often disregarded the vital presence of our Lord in this lifetime wherein we "walk by faith, not by sight" (II Corinthians 5:7).   Moreover, we face great challenge regarding the remembrance and affirmation of the Great Fact of our existence.  However, by faith, we can live this day in the blessed reality of "We."  Bells and whistles may not sound when we believe the truth.  Red Seas may not seem to part.  Spectacular and open displays of God's power may not present themselves to our senses and awareness.  However, when we remember and affirm the truth of Christ's abiding presence and active involvement, change does occur.  Our hearts change.  Our expectations change.  Our attitude changes.  Our steps change.  We are changed as we behold "the hope of glory," and as the realization of faith unveils to us Christ's living presence within our hearts and upon our hands and feet…

"Beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, we are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."

(II Corinthians 3:18)

Weekly Memory Verse

    "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord."

(II Corinthians 3:18)

  

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