Sunday, December 14, 2008

And the city has no need of sun or moon in order that they might give it light, for The Glory Of God has illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb. Rev. 21:23.

Where I live in Michigan, "lake effect" weather tends to produce gray skies as often as not. You see, Lake Michigan is about 300 miles long and more than 50 miles wide. It is large enough to create its own weather! On otherwise sunny days the prevailing wind picks up moisture over the lake and produces a seamless, gray cloud cover over the landscape to the east. I live in that "landscape." The first winter I spent in southwest Michigan we saw the sun only 12 days from September 1 to April 1. I didn't say that we had 12 sunny days, but that we "saw" the sun (sometimes only for a few minutes) on only 12 days out of more than 200!

While things have been a bit brighter in recent years (could global warming be a good thing in some places?), the sky is still a lot grayer in this part of the world than many other places. So when the sun breaks out and the sky is bright blue, Michiganders tend to rejoice more than most people would. Light, frankly, is a most glorious substance, espcially when you don't get enough of it. It is no wonder that when the Bible speaks of light in the context of God, it uses the word "glory."

The very last reference in the Bible to the glory of God occurs in our text for today. The word "glory" has a number of meanings in the Bible. But when we narrow the focus to manifestations of God, glory designates something quite different than "beauty, ornament, pride, or boasting."

In the Lord's Prayer Jesus says, "Thine is the  . . . glory" (Matt. 6:13, KJV). Glory is not an accidental feature of God's character, but an essential quality. But such glory is much more than just a rdiant brightness. Exodus 34:6, 7, defines the glory of God as His character. God is "slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the quilty unpunished."(NIV). The glory of God expresses the fullness of His character, including both justice and mercy. That character clearly manifested itself in the words and the actions of Jesus(John 17:1-5).

In practical terms the place where we see the glory of God today is in His Word. It is the Bible that opens up the character of God to us in Jesus Christ. Other claims to glory may distract us, but we find the true glory in Jesus Christ through His Word. In the Word, God allows us to experience His glory, a foretaste of our experience in the New Jerusalem. There, what we have taken hold of here by faith will be visible to our sight.

Lord, I want to know You more and more. Fill my mind and heart with the glory of Your character today.

Those who seek God in secret telling the Lord their needs and pleading for help, will not plead in vain. "Thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly." As we make Christ our daily companion we shall feel that the powers of an unseen world are all around us; and by looking unto Jesus we shall become assimilated to His image. By beholding we become changed. The character is softened, refined, and ennobled for the heavenly kingdom. The sure result of our intercourse and fellowship with our Lord will be to increase piety, purity, and fervor. There will be a growing intelligence in prayer. We are receiving a divine education, and this is illustrated in a life of diligence and zeal(TFMB 85).