Waves of Glory

As we behold the glory of Christ, we grow a distaste for all other glories. We are born
with a heart that hates the glory of God and craves the praise of man (John 5:44). It is
the nature of our flesh to desire to glorify ourselves and hold on to glory that is meant to
be sent to our God. As C. S. Lewis once wrote, we settle for “making mud pies in a slum
because we cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.” Help us
taste and see (Psalm 34:8)!

The new birth in Jesus enables us to see His glory (John 3:3) and changes our desires.
In John 17:1 we see Jesus’ sole desire to glorify His Father as we have seen so often
throughout our study in this glorious gospel. “Glorify your Son that your Son may glorify
you,” is His constant heart's cry. It was not just a command to keep, but a path to
delight. The glory passed from the Father to the Son and back to the Father was a
“glory cyclone” full of eternal life. This is the craving of every human heart, yet we look
elsewhere to be filled.

In His mercy, though, He snatches us out of the slums of our sin and gives us a view of
the depths of His glory. We long to be loved. We long for peace. We long for grace. We
long for His glory. He reveals it to us at the foot of His cross.

The Son is glorified as we see Him give up all heavenly and earthly glory to bring a
chosen people to glory. He humbled himself as a servant to die on a cross for our sin
(Philippians 2:7-8), yet he was not acting on His own—He was sent by His heavenly
Father. The love that we see from Jesus is the love from the Father. We see that He is
righteous and just carrying out the penalty for man’s sin. We see His love and mercy as
the penalty is paid by His Son (Romans 5:8). Glory!

As we are brought lower, we see His glory more clearly. As we grow a distaste for the
slums of false glory, we find ourselves basking in waves of His glory. Instead of making
plans to stay in the slums, we altar our course to a holiday at the sea. Losing our own
glory becomes gain (Matthew 10:39). Gaining His glory becomes everything. O God,
show us Your glory!