Strange Glory

“These words spake Jesus, and lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee” (John 17:1).

Shortly after His request for glory, the Lord Jesus Christ would suffer unjust accusation and hang upon a cross of shame, rejection, sorrow, agony and death.

Human understanding might conclude that God did not answer the prayer, particularly if the observer knew that Christ experienced not only human wrath on the cross, but also Divine smiting and forsakenness. “We did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted” (Isaiah 53:4). If the prayer was in fact answered, we must accept the fact that the Lord’s definition of “glory” must be quite different than our own.

It is. While the glory of God often manifests itself in great displays of power, illumination, majesty and honor, it may also be revealed in ways that seem strange and counter-intuitive. Sometimes mangers, obscurity, crosses and tombs serve as perplexing temples of glory. We must remember this truth as we pray. Our Heavenly Father’s “glorious” answers may require challenging and difficult means whereby faith will be necessary if we are to know that He has responded to our request. The Apostle Paul’s request for the removal of a thorn was answered by the supply of grace sufficient to survive and thrive in the midst of enduring pain (II Corinthians 12:9). We will doubtless experience the same at times, receiving supplies of glory that come to us clothed in seemingly unlikely garb. “Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass” (Matthew 21:5).

Of course, the cross led to resurrection and the obvious glory in which our risen Lord forever resides. The same will be true in our lives – or perhaps after our present life. We will one day discover that glory revealed on crosses and grace supplied for enduring thorns was glory and grace indeed. God displays the goodness of His heart rather than the power of His hand in such times for those with eyes to behold Light in the darkness. It is not an easy way. But it is often God’s way, and as His trusting children, it is often our way.

“Then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday.” (Isaiah 58:10)

“An Extra Special Valentine”

The Jackson Chronicles Part 9
(Another in the ongoing series of our grandson Jackson’s capacity to do and say things that seem far beyond his six years on the planet.)

Last week, as Jackson prepared Valentine cards for his classmates, he asked if he could make an extra special one for a little girl named Lillie. As my son recounted the story, I immediately thought that Jackson must have experienced his first taste of romance. This was not the case, however. Instead, it turns out that Lillie has been frightened by drawings of animals on the walls of the girls’ restroom at their school. “I want to make her feel better” said Jackson. Moreover, it turns out that Lillie faces a particular challenge that likely most touched our grandson’s heart. She has Down’s Syndrome.

It certainly touches my heart that Jackson is, at such a young age, sensitive to the feelings and needs of others. He cares about Lillie’s sense of insecurity, and obviously realizes that her challenge may cause an especially difficult response to the troubling images. Most importantly, Jackson wanted to do something about it. He desired with the special Valentine to show Lillie that what she feels matters to somebody, and that somebody genuinely cares.

We all want somebody to make for us an extra special Valentine, don’t we? Even more, we want somebody to feel the feelings of our own challenges, and to in some way make them their own. Thankfully, Somebody does.

“He careth for you” (I Peter 5:7).

We could spend a lifetime considering, assimilating, believing and rejoicing in the Apostle’s simple statement. We will spend an eternity doing so. Yes, our Savior, our empathizing and sympathizing High Priest, experiences our joys and sorrows as if they were His own. In truth, they are His own because the Lord Jesus Christ dwells within our hearts by His Spirit. He draws so near when we trust Him that He cannot but know and feel the emotional content of our hearts. Moreover, He so loves us that He naturally enters into the ebb and flow of our emotions. “We have not a High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities” (Hebrews 4:15). In this moment, we can be sure that what we care about He cares about, what we feel, He feels, and that our joys and sorrows are His joys and sorrows.

Jackson’s response to Lillie thrills me because it evidences response to God’s working in his heart to reveal the Lord Jesus to him. Indeed, such caring is not human in origin. It rather begins in the Divine heart of the God in whom all genuine concern for others originates. May our Heavenly Father continue His working in Jackson and in all our hearts to reveal how much we matter to Him, and how much others can matter to us. Doubtless, in this day someone in our sphere of influence would be blessed by “an extra special Valentine,” in whatever form. Jackson’s example inspires me to care, and even more, to do something about it. I’m sure you join me in this offering of ourselves to the Lord so that His caring for us might become our caring for others.

“Bear ye one another’s’ burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Galatians 6:2)

“The Miner”

A visit to a fine jewelry store may involve direct contact with but one of the establishment’s employees. The salesperson that greets and serves the customer certainly plays a vital role in the success of the business. However, he or she occupies a single link in a chain of people responsible for making gold, silver, platinum, and precious gemstones available for purchase.

The first link of the chain is the miner, that person easily forgotten when standing in a beautifully adorned showroom. Without the efforts of those who risk their lives in dangerous caverns and abysses, jewelry stores would not and could not exist. The unheralded miner, laboring in the bowels of the earth and perhaps stressed more than any other link in the chain, does his job in order that specimens of beauty might be available to the jewelry store patron.

I shared this illustration with a friend yesterday as we discussed the work of the church. I proposed that while pastors and preachers serve an important role in communicating the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the bulk of God’s redeeming work happens far away from pulpits. Believers living lives that exemplify and testify of Christ along the everyday paths of life bear far more weight and influence than any other agency of the Holy Spirit. By this, I do not mean to minimize the importance of preachers (especially since I am one). I do, however, intend to suggest that positive response to sermons often (perhaps always) requires the preparatory work of Christ’s character revealed by Christians in the recipient’s accustomed environment.

The miner who labors in the bowels of the earth receives little notice or consideration by the jewelry store patron who seeks glimmering baubles unearthed by hard and hidden labors. Nor do we always realize that our response to a good sermon or well-prepared lesson actually began when we saw the Lord Jesus exemplified or communicated by Christians who may not stand in pulpits, but who walk along pathways of godliness. God sees the miner, hidden to other eyes. Even more, He sees the believer who quietly, but powerfully, reveals the redeeming truth of the Pearl of great price as we travel everyday paths of righteousness that lead to eternal glories.

“Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:14-16)