Glory Revealed
"For I
consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with
the glory that is to be revealed to us" (Romans 8:18 ESV).
But the glory that will be revealed TO us. This is what makes my heart beat--not a recompense, a you've suffered so here's your due. This is what is above and beyond anything, not an equal, not a tit-for-tat, but something so undeserved, so great that nothing begin to tip the cup to get.
God himself.
The glory that will be revealed TO us. TO me.
"O Lord, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul. My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you" (Isa. 26:8b-9).
When my constant, incessant thirst ever cries out without rest--yet this is something greater I thirst for.
When teeth clench in pain and muscles quiver and spasm in tight control of pain tension, yet soul looses in anticipation.
When fatigued slumps, yet heart leaps at thought.
God himself.
In the financial burden, God the Treasure (Gen. 15; Col. 2:3). In the broken marriage, God your husband (Isa. 54). In the darkness, God the Light. In the court, God the Just Victor. In the diagnosis, God the Healer and Giver of a New and Glorious Body (Phil. 3:21). In the decisions, God the Shepherd. Now, we get a foretaste that even in our pain quickens our heart and makes us long for more.
And hope will not be disappointed. This is why hope helps us in suffering (Rom. 5:1-5), because it is based on a foretaste and surer than the sun and far greater than just me and mine.
God himself.
Mystery, humble amazement, but somehow my little tiny body, my little tiny moment, my little tiny life can bring glory to God. So the pain is too great--but not too great for you, Lord. I eke it out, for eternal glory IN Christ, the glory that will be revealed TO me, the hope of the glory OF God. With your name, for your name, there is divine power invested in me, given me. In you. Tremor of joy, yet mingled with tremor of pain. But yes, Lord. If my weakness makes your glory great, may it be, may it be, amen. Not a sacrifice, a consuming satisfaction.
Prepositions are important.Many translations read "the glory that is to be revealed IN us" (NIV, NKJV). Others have "TO us" (ESV, NASB).
I think we often read it as and use it as the former--"I can bear this because I will get glory someday. I'll get paid back. It will be worth it. Someday, someday...." It is true, we will participate in his glory. As he is the firstborn, as we are like him, we will participate in his glory, like little moons around the glowing sun.
But what if.... What if there was a greater something. The above alludes to it--we are the moons. He is the Sun. Is the moon content in its own ability to produce light? Is it satisfied and recompensed in that? No! It still cannot produce its own light. We are called to "eternal glory IN Christ" (1 Peter 5:10)--Christ's glory. We rejoice "in hope of the glory OF God" (Romans 5:2)--God's glory.
Honestly, my own greater glory can fail me. If that is my goal, my dear Lord, in the pain, I'll trade. "Lord, the body-soul-mind-spirit-pain is too great. I can't eke it out. I'll settle for less glory." (Not my rational moment, but suffering is not rational). We'll take the ice cream now and worry about the weight and blood sugar later. Right now, the marriage, the court battle, the financial burden, the diagnosis, the decisions, the unemployment, the whatever-it-is-you-are-going-through, well, we'll trade. Later won't compensate for now. Job's new sons and daughters never replaced those who were killed; they were unique and precious and loved. Our glory later isn't, for me, reason enough to find hope in the moment.
But what if.... What if there was a greater something. The above alludes to it--we are the moons. He is the Sun. Is the moon content in its own ability to produce light? Is it satisfied and recompensed in that? No! It still cannot produce its own light. We are called to "eternal glory IN Christ" (1 Peter 5:10)--Christ's glory. We rejoice "in hope of the glory OF God" (Romans 5:2)--God's glory.
Honestly, my own greater glory can fail me. If that is my goal, my dear Lord, in the pain, I'll trade. "Lord, the body-soul-mind-spirit-pain is too great. I can't eke it out. I'll settle for less glory." (Not my rational moment, but suffering is not rational). We'll take the ice cream now and worry about the weight and blood sugar later. Right now, the marriage, the court battle, the financial burden, the diagnosis, the decisions, the unemployment, the whatever-it-is-you-are-going-through, well, we'll trade. Later won't compensate for now. Job's new sons and daughters never replaced those who were killed; they were unique and precious and loved. Our glory later isn't, for me, reason enough to find hope in the moment.
But the glory that will be revealed TO us. This is what makes my heart beat--not a recompense, a you've suffered so here's your due. This is what is above and beyond anything, not an equal, not a tit-for-tat, but something so undeserved, so great that nothing begin to tip the cup to get.
God himself.
The glory that will be revealed TO us. TO me.
"O Lord, we wait for you; your name and remembrance are the desire of our soul. My soul yearns for you in the night; my spirit within me earnestly seeks you" (Isa. 26:8b-9).
When my constant, incessant thirst ever cries out without rest--yet this is something greater I thirst for.
When teeth clench in pain and muscles quiver and spasm in tight control of pain tension, yet soul looses in anticipation. When fatigued slumps, yet heart leaps at thought.
God himself.
In the financial burden, God the Treasure (Gen. 15; Col. 2:3). In the broken marriage, God your husband (Isa. 54). In the darkness, God the Light. In the court, God the Just Victor. In the diagnosis, God the Healer and Giver of a New and Glorious Body (Phil. 3:21). In the decisions, God the Shepherd. Now, we get a foretaste that even in our pain quickens our heart and makes us long for more.
And hope will not be disappointed. This is why hope helps us in suffering (Rom. 5:1-5), because it is based on a foretaste and surer than the sun and far greater than just me and mine.
God himself.
Mystery, humble amazement, but somehow my little tiny body, my little tiny moment, my little tiny life can bring glory to God. So the pain is too great--but not too great for you, Lord. I eke it out, for eternal glory IN Christ, the glory that will be revealed TO me, the hope of the glory OF God. With your name, for your name, there is divine power invested in me, given me. In you. Tremor of joy, yet mingled with tremor of pain. But yes, Lord. If my weakness makes your glory great, may it be, may it be, amen. Not a sacrifice, a consuming satisfaction.
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