Christ and God's Glory

"I do not seek my own glory" (John 8:50).

"When Jesus heard this, said, "This sickness will not end in death, but is for the glory of God, that by it the Son of God may be glorified'" (John 11:4).

I long to know deeper the heart of Christ.  In John especially, he shows his heart in his love for his Father. His dependence, his revelation of, his knowledge of, his intimacy with his Father.... There is an intricate relationship of glory between the Father and the Son, each seeking to glorify one another.  If Christ sought the glory of God, what does that tell us about himself? His character, values, purpose?

As I sink myself in these verses, dwell on them, this is what I see about Christ:
- The depth of the love of Christ. The love for his Father made ​​his heart beat, dictated all his actions, all his words, and guided him. A pure love! Sincere! What a Savior!

- The holiness of Christ. He separated himself from all that might have impeded his relationship with his Father. He valued his intimate relationship with his Father, more than anything else--sleep, comfort, a bed, time to himself, privacy.... Worldly things surely tempted him, but his love for his Father won over those temptations. What a Savior!

- His purity of heart. Jesus himself said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8). Again, nothing distracted him from his purpose and his Father. His Father and his glory was his passion.

- How he strives to fulfill his Father-given mission. All of his strength was directed glorify his Father. He was intent, purposeful, single-hearted. He faced all the reinging social and religious powers, endured death and the cross, gave amazing teaching, bore the rejection even of his friends, and more. Jesus said, “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say, ‘Father, save me from this hour'? If indeed I have come to face it! Father, glorify thy name "(John 12:28). It was not easy for him to face the cross and death--he himself said his soul was distressed. But his love for his Father led him to confront and bear even that pain.

- His humility. He was completely dependent on his Father. The Father showed Him all and gave everything. Jesus did not try to prove himself, brag about his own power or wisdom, or boast of his own strength. Rather, he rested in the love of his Father. In humility and love, he submitted himself.

- His sacrifice. His life, his own will, his comfort--he layed down all for the sake of his Father and his glory in the fulfilling of the covenantal plan hatched before time, so God might be glorified as faithful in his Son. What a Savior!

- His faithfulness. Jesus never abandoned his purpose to glorify His Father no matter how difficult. 

Contemplating Christ and his heart's focus on the glory of the Father, we see the character of Christ. His true, pure, holy, humble character. My heart overflows. It is this Savior to whom we can entrust all, to whom we can rest in, to whom we pray to and who we pray with, in whom we abide, with who we commune. Knowing his character, I can relax, unfold, trust, surrender--in his embrace. Embraced by the one who embraced pain and suffering to love his Father, to love us.


May we all be ever more enraptured with our Savior.