Peter begins his epistle thanking and praising God for what he has done for us in the past, in the death and resurrection of Christ. Staring from what Christ has done in the past, Peter then looks ahead to the final day in which we will receive our eternal inheritance, an inheritance that is kept and preserved for us by God.

As Peter looks ahead to the subsequent glories of the cross he does not only look to the day of our eternal inheritance, he also addresses how the glories of the cross impact our current daily life. While the past work of the cross is supreme, and our future is wondrously glorious, so also our current life is filled with the glories of the cross.

But Peter is clear that in order to see and enjoy the subsequent glories of the cross in our daily lives we need to have faith. It is by the filter of faith that we can perceive the circumstances of our daily lives as glorious and hopeful. Whether we are experiencing an exciting day, a mundane day, or especially a painful day, we are able, by faith, to appreciate our circumstances as subsequent glories of the cross. Faith sees God’s hand and his Christ exalting purposes in every circumstance of our lives–most notably in trials. Without faith we don’t make these connections. No wonder Peter calls our faith “…more precious than gold.” Each time we make this connection–expressly in the midst of trials–and rejoice in God’s doing, we obtain a measure of the goal of our faith. We see God’s hand as he brings to completion the salvation of our souls.

We long for the final and ultimate entry into our eternal inheritance, but we also rejoice in every victory of our faith, every trial we endure, every sin put to death. This is God’s work: “…by his power we are guarded through faith…” (1 Peter 1:5). And so just as God himself has accomplished all that we need to be saved on the cross of the past, he is also currently working out the subsequent glories of the cross, by upholding our faith day-by-day, delivering to us measure-by-measure the goal of our faith, until the final day.

Thank you Jesus that your death was so great that it continues to afford to me subsequent glories to this very day. Your power and your life uphold my faith and so I have great hope. Help me to walk in the faith that you have given to me, rejoicing in you, rejoicing in the gospel of the cross and longing for the glories yet to come.

There are, on God’s palette, many colors and shades from which He chooses when painting the canvas upon which His glory is revealed. They are not all bright rainbow colors. Among His supplies are earthy browns, dark umber hues, grays, and blacks that, when painted by the master, fall perfectly into His bright design.

The story of the death of Lazarus was painted in these darker tones. Yet the entire canvas was sovereignly drawn for the glory of the Son of God. Jesus said that He was glad for this opportunity and acted in His love when He filled His brush full of deep blues and cold black for shadows, mourning and grief.

Lazarus was sick. I’m sick right now with the cold and it’s not pleasant. But to be sick enough that your life is threatened is far more excruciating than having a common cold. Yet, Jesus’ delay allowed this sickness to get really bad, so bad that Lazarus did die from it.

Lazarus’s sister, Martha, who was already prone to worry, must have been an emotional wreck as she watched her brother die. She must have been frantic, hoping that the one they sent to find Jesus would find Him in time, hoping that Jesus would arrive to heal before it was too late.

Between verse three and verse four, there is a span of time from when the sisters sent for Jesus, and when the one they sent found Him to deliver the message. It must have been at least a day since it was at twenty or thirty miles from Bethany to where Jesus was. The messenger must have also been under great stress–traveling as quickly as possible with life and death on the line.

And I wonder what the disciples thought when they heard that Lazarus was sick and that Mary and Martha wanted Jesus to come? I glean from Thomas’s remarks that the disciples thought that a return to Jerusalem would result in the stoning of Jesus–and that they would be targeted too. Jesus’ knew exactly what He was doing in delay. He knew what was in store for the glory of God in the Son. But I wonder if the disciples, who didn’t know Jesus’ plan, felt an uncomfortable mix of sorrow for Lazarus’s suffering but also relief because it seemed like Jesus wasn’t going to go back to Jerusalem?

But He did go back. The long walk to Bethany probably felt like a death march to the disciples.

This is a dreary episode for everyone involved. It was full of pain, anxiety, sorrow, mourning, stress, fear and disappointment. What odd shades to choose when painting a glorious revelation of Jesus–the Resurrection and the Life.

But as any good painter knows, to dramatically display the brightest and most beautiful colors often requires the use of contrasting dark and muted tones. Some of the most glorious uses of color are found on the darkest canvases. And Jesus is the Master of masters when it comes to applying paint to canvas. Every shade is perfect and every stroke in place.

Speaking of paintings, there is an elusive and subjective element to art appreciation. Some people look at a painting and delight in it, while others pass by unaffected. There are many internal impulses that come into play when beholding a work of art. What these impulses are is hard to define.

Similarly, people respond differently to the displays of God’s glory. Some rejoice, fall down and worship. Some pick up stones. The inner condition that produces one response as opposed to the other is not hard to define at all. The element necessary to appreciate the glorious canvases of the Master is faith.

The eyes of faith look upon the story of Lazarus–a man dying from severe sickness, desperate sisters disappointed in their Lord, futile rescue plans thwarted by apparent indifference, and friends that are too fearful to help, and can see God’s skillful hand at work. Ultimately, Jesus does bring light and joy into the frame, but before He fills His brush with pure white and bright yellow, before He pulls it all together in a glorious work, He exhorts His disciples and He exhorts Martha—to have faith. “Did I not say to you, if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

On the finished canvas the glory of it all is plain. Sorrow gives way to rejoicing, mourning gives way to gladness–and we believe. It is fitting that we should rejoice when the final stroke of a masterpiece is applied and a glorious painting is revealed. But it seems to me that Jesus is most glorified when, by faith, trusting in His skill, we accept, in anticipation of the final revelation, that every dark spot is placed in perfect proportion to the glory of God–even before the painting is done. Is this not how Jesus was exhorting His disciples, two days before they saw the power of God? “…I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe…”

Lord, grant me faith that rests in your perfect skill. Grant me faith to overcome pain, stress, sorrow, and fear when they come upon me. When the inexplicable happens, when disappointment arrives, when my plans are frustrated or my intentions foiled–then, O Lord, let me trust in your hand and watch the Master at work, knowing that when all is complete there will be resurrection and life. Amen.

Eric Holter
Chapel Hill, NC

I try to maintain twin objectives in my day-to-day spiritual life. They run parallel to each other, like train tracks. If one or the other is lacking, bent, or damaged, my spiritual life tends to derail. One track is the daily mortification of sin, and the other is actively pursuing the glory of God in Christ. Seeing and knowing God is the positive and ultimate goal, but killing sin is the necessary and often more tangible exercise I engage in. Killing sin does not equal seeing God, nor does success in battle automatically result in a view of the glory of God. But, failure to mortify sin is certainly an effective preventor of seeing and delighting in God’s glory.

Killing sin sometimes means embracing self denial or ceasing to engage in some sinful activity or bad habit. But the deeper and more constant effort of sin killing engages my thoughts, motives and emotions. This kind of mortification is invisible. It happens in my head and heart.

Similarly, beholding the glory of God is also an invisible transaction–pillars of fire and parting of waters are not a part of the glory I behold. Rather, spiritual light, the radiance of God, is apprehended in my heart.

It’s tricky to maintain these two important tracks upon which my life rolls toward its ultimate heavenly calling–especially since their condition is invisible and my ability to evaluate their state of repair is often veiled. Yet daily mortification and unceasing orientation Godward is necessary if I’m to stand firm in Christ.

The Old Testament is full of episodes where many of the things which happen inwardly and invisibly now were practiced outwardly and physically then. Circumcision, for example, was a visible physical sign then, whereas true spiritual circumcision is now a circumcision of the heart. Under the new covenant a true Israelite is not one by ethnicity, but only if he is God’s inwardly. Idolatry, back then, often involved physical Ashera idols that could be chopped down with an axe, whereas the typical forms of idolatry I contend with now include inward orientations toward greed, pride, and covetousness.

As a help in my inward battle with sin and the pursuit of the glory of God in Christ I have the many Old Testament examples for my consideration and instruction. As I face inner battles it is very helpful to have physical illustrations that help my mind with concrete, imaginable stories. Such is Exodus, chapters thirty-two and thirty-three. They illustrate the mortification of sin and the glory of Christ.

First Corinthians, chapter ten, recounts a few occurrences of Israel’s wandering in the wilderness and equates these events with spiritual realities in Christ. Passing under the cloud is likened to our baptism in Christ. Drinking from the rock is like our drinking living water from Christ. Verses six and eleven explicitly say that these occurrences that happened in the desert are for examples and for our instruction. This is a massive statement. Especially considering that the primary example in view in chapter eleven is Israel’s rebellion and subsequent judgment, in which thousands died. Calculating by human lives, this was a very high price to pay to create an example, an illustration, a lesson, for me. But so it is. The great cost of this lesson should cause me to weigh very heavily the reading of Paul’s conclusion in versus twelve and fourteen,

“Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.”

What happened in the desert was harsh–not undeserved, but a very costly and painful lesson. The weight of these real, physical, painful occurrences are given to focus my mind on the reality, urgency and weightiness of their point–resist temptation.

Back to Exodus thirty-two and thirty-three, these two adjacent chapters are equally instructional. In chapter thirty-two I see a real-life, physical demonstration of killing sin. In chapter thirty-three I see a real-life, physical demonstration of eyes laying hold of the glory of God. The one prepares the stage for the other.

The reason these stories are so helpful is that they help to make metaphors more real. For example, Jesus uses metaphors like cutting out eyes or chopping off hands. He uses such language to emphasize the urgency of fighting sin–and I must hear and heed these extreme words. But they are metaphors. Jesus doesn’t intend that I literally employ such ineffective strategies–but rather to accept the urgency of not tolerating sin or else I may end up in hell. The real battleground and the most effective techniques in battling my sin are spiritual and employed in my mind, my thoughts and my heart. But it is very useful for me to consider the scene described in Exodus thirty-two to give examples to these metaphors.

The Israelites had, in short order (Moses being absent for forty days), turned to idolatry and had begun worshiping a golden calf. Moses did not merely rebuke the people that sinned. He killed them. He ordered that all who were loyal to the Lord strap on swords and kill each one his brother, his neighbor, his friends. Wow. I cannot imagine how they could do that. I imagine it’s very hard for a soldier to kill, even when he’s killing an enemy, but killing a friend–unimaginable. Yet the Lord is over all and no friendship or family relationship trumps obedience to our maker and so they did it. The passage does not go into gory details but it is not hard to imagine the terrible scene of these faithful men, swords in hand, striking down those they had known all their lives. They struck at the ones with whom they had been enslaved in Egypt, the ones who celebrated with them at the sea, and with those who stood in awe with them at Mt. Sinai. They killed the ones they walked with, the ones they talked to every day. They attacked their fellow desert sojourners, cutting them to pieces with the sword.

This chapter is instructive for me because such is the killing of my own sins–my dear friends, my comforters, the ones I have been familiar with all my days. These close sins have entertained me and pretended to care for me. My familiar friends need the sword. Any so called friend that would encourage me to turn to idols rather than seek the living God is no true friend. Though I am familiar with my sins and though they are tightly integrated into my life–I must be as ruthless toward them as those Israelites who obeyed Moses, picking up their swords and swinging without mercy at their close, intimate and idolatrous friends. It is hard to put sin to death. But fixing the story of Exodus thirty-two in my mind–being instructed by it–I know I must take up the sword and kill my sin with no less vigor and alacrity.

But what of chapter thirty-three? Moses did a hard thing by taking up the sword against idolatry–he purged the sin from the midst of the camp. It is not surprising that having gone to war against sin, the very next chapter describes his seeing God’s glory. Chapter thirty-three is as instructive is chapter thirty-two. Whereas chapter thirty-two instructs as to the mortification of sin, chapter thirty-three instructs as to the ultimate objective of sin killing–seeing and beholding the light of the glory of the only God.

What did Moses want most?

“Now therefore, I pray You, if I have found favor in Your sight, let me know Your ways that I may know You, so that I may find favor in Your sight.”

and

“I pray You, show me Your glory!”

And God said yes. He showed Moses His glory. He passed by before his very eyes.

There is no greater thing than beholding the goodness and glory of God. This is the final result and purpose for my calling as a Christian–Jesus saved me in order to bring me to God (“For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God…” – 1 Peter 3:18), to see Him and His Father’s glory in His eternal kingdom. This is to be my longing and my heart’s desire all my days.

Old Testament physical realities often have corresponding New Testament spiritual realities. What was visible in the old covenant is often invisible in the new. Thus a physical blade is replaced by divine weapons against thoughts and pretensions. Thus Moses’ actual visible experience of God’s glory is replaced with a spiritual apprehension of the glory of God in the face of Christ. And while I do not expect to see His glory with my eyes, while I remain alive, I do expect and desire to apprehend Christ’s glory in my heart by the Spirit. Moses’ words are instructive for killing sin and instructive for seeing God’s glory. And while I do not use metal in my mortifying, yet I do mortify. Neither do I see with my eyes, yet I seek out and long to apprehend spiritually the glory of Christ.

Dear Lord. I pray, show me Your glory. Jesus, keep me longing, waiting, and seeking. Let me not become satisfied with small things when awesome things are promised. Set the eyes of my heart on things above where you are, in your glory. You are my heart’’ desire–intensify this desire for you. I need you more and more. Amen.

What an amazing sight enjoyed not only by Moses and Aaron but also Nadab, Abihu and the seventy elders. These men saw God. They saw a glimpse into the glory of heaven. They saw God standing upon a clear sapphire foundation. They saw Him with their own eyes–and did not die! What a privilege, what a sight. To see God Himself, to see Him in His glory is the ultimate desire of the human soul and the best result of our entire existence–to see Him (and not be struck down dead) is the successful end of our purpose for living. These men saw it–and then they ate and drank.

The mention of eating and drinking is curious. Such a wonder as seeing God in His glory and the next thing mentioned is that they ate and drank. It seems such a contrast. The height of spiritual attainment followed directly by something as common as eating and drinking. It makes me wonder how common eating and drinking really are. After all, the Bible speaks of eating and drinking frequently as metaphor for spiritual hunger and spiritual satisfaction. Ecclesiastes speaks frequently about enjoying eating and drinking as a fundamental purpose of our days under the sun. The prophets speak often of eating and drinking as both warnings, when they are pursued excessively and sought as pleasures in and of themselves, and as rewards for truly seeking God. Jesus exhorts us to pursue that which is true food–that is–Himself. He is the everlasting and true food. God promises feasting in His kingdom as a part of His heavenly rewards. One of the primary ordinances of the new covenant involves the eating and drinking of the bread and wine as expressions of Christ’s sacrifice. And the apostle Paul addresses many spiritual matters using examples and applications that deal with issues of food and drink. In all these ways the Bible frequently connects God, Jesus, heaven, faith, and glory with food and drink.

This probably means that food and drink have a much greater meaning and purpose than I know when I receive them each day. So, will I think of Christ above when I eat some chips? Will I ask for living water for my soul when I enjoy a diet Stewart’s orange ‘n cream soda? Will I hear the echo of Isaiah 55:12 when I sit down to dinner?

“Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance.” Isaiah 55:1-2

When I eat honey – or more often chocolate, will I remember the reason why some things taste sweet?

“My son, eat honey, for it is good, yes, the honey from the comb is sweet to your taste; Know that wisdom is thus for your soul; if you find it, then there will be a future, and your hope will not be cut off.” Proverbs 24:13-14

When I look forward to a special meal–or enjoy a carefully prepared dish–will I recall the feast that Jesus longed for?

“And He said to them, ‘I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.’” Luke 22:15-16

No, I think eating and drinking are not so common after all. While eating and drinking and hunger and thirst are basic components of daily life, they are not insignificant. In fact they may be among the most significant daily events of our lives. God speaks every single day about hunger, thirst, appetite, desire, dependence, provision, satisfaction, and pleasure by making us need and want food and drink. Anybody, anywhere, anytime can produce in themselves a great and fervent hunger by simply abstaining from food and drink for a short time. And this easily created gut twisting hunger is just as easily satisfied by taking some food. And we do this every single day.

God speaks daily through our hunger and our thirst. God designed these basic and frequent occasions for us to be reminded of our need for the true food and true drink. The cyclical nature of hunger and thirst, eating and drinking should turn our attention to the source from which all things to derive their existence–the God of glory standing upon a clear sapphire foundation burning brightly in eternal glory. He is standing in heaven every moment of every day–during every meal, while I chew every bite of food and sip every cup of drink.

Lord, increase my awareness of your presence and your purposes for eating and drinking. Draw my mind and my heart upward whenever I eat, whenever I drink, and whenever I enjoy your good gifts. And Lord, from time to time remind me to take up fasting to remind myself how powerful a means of grace eating and drinking, hunger and thirst really are. And most of all open my eyes to the glory of Christ seated at your right hand on a clear platform of sapphire – and thank you and I may see you and not die because of the blood and the cross. Amen.

The apostle Paul was blessed with a glimpse into the glories of heaven. He saw and heard things that cannot be uttered. I would think that such an unobscured view of the glory of God in heaven would have the most positive, sanctifying, God exalting, eternity desiring effects on Paul. Indeed, I’m sure it did. Yet, even so, Paul was also in grave danger as a direct result of these revelations. Embedded in his corrupt flesh was the prideful tendency toward self exaltation. In our perfected state – after death – the glories of heaven will only produce perfect God centered joy. But because of our current corruption these same glories carry with them the potential effects of prideful self exaltation. God knew that Paul’s revelations would inevitably lead him to boasting. So for this very reason God assigned him a messenger of Satan. Some form of constant pain, severe enough that Paul entreated God three times for its removal, was given to him. But it was not removed because God knew that should this man, having received such great heights of revelation, would surely fall into the snares of pride and end up boasting.

It seems a spiritual necessity that great revelations be accompanied with some form of counter balancing affliction in order to keep human flesh from boasting. God knows I cannot bear too much revelation while in this sinful body.

The pattern is frequent in scripture. Was not Peter’s great revelation in stating that Jesus was the Christ the son of the living God followed quickly by his being sternly rebuked for standing in the way of Jesus and the cross? Are not some of the most blessed new covenant promises of adoption, sharing in the Spirit, and eternal inheritance conditioned upon sharing in the fellowship of His sufferings? Are not fiery trials appointed for the refining of faith more precious than gold?

There is a spectrum of experience for the Christian, and I must live along this spectrum moving between one extreme and the other day by day. On the one end is circumstantial and physical ease, usually accompanied by simpler, more modest revelations. And on the other end are the greater revelations of the glory of God in the face of Christ accompanied with burdens borne to counter balance pride. Truly the second state is to be preferred over the first, but who can bear it? No one can bear it, and certainly no one can prefer it except by grace. And joy! His grace is sufficient for bearing all such burdens.

To receive the gift of revelation and grace to bear burdens I must learn – like Paul – to say “therefore I am well content with weakness, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Lord grant me the grace to most gladly prefer pain and weakness if such might afford me a better revelation of Christ. You O God are my soul’s satisfaction. Let me not guard so diligently against all pain and discomfort but rather be ready to receive trouble – if with it also the grace to endure – that the result might be more of you. For Jesus sake, amen.

I wonder how the gospel was preached prior to the crucifixion? Throughout Jesus’ ministry He and His disciples preached the gospel of the kingdom of God. Whatever allusions to the cross contained in these messages were lost to its hearers. Yet the gospel was preached. Certainly, there are many things that can be said about the gospel without direct reference to the cross. For example: righteous requirements for human conduct, promises for future rewards, hope for peace, and standards for justice. Such facets of the nascent gospel were understood best by Jews – because they had the law and prophets as context. Even so the Jews struggled to comprehend the basic aspects of the non-cross centered gospel – how much more perplexing would a cross exalting gospel be to them.

Yet the gospel, in its fullness, was ordained from eternity to be manifest through the cross of Christ. The gospel about the greatness of the glory of God was never designed to be understood primarily through any historical context, but rather through the revelation of a hidden mystery. The pinnacle of the gospel was plunked down, as it were, in the midst of history. For who would have imagined the cross? Who could comprehend the innocent and pure Lamb of God would be slaughtered for corrupt God-haters? The cross had no historical antecedent. It did have some vague foreshadowing and symbolic representation in the Old Testament, but such hints of a God slaying gospel were never established in human expectations.

The cross-centered gospel of Christ transcends all earthly historical context or rational ground for understanding and grasping the glory of God. It is the ultimate spiritual enigma.

True, there are many aspects of the gospel which can be spoken of, explained, and preached which have common ground in human understanding. For instance we can speak in depth about the gospel’s effects on family relationships in a way just about anyone can grasp and appreciate. But ultimately it is the gospel of grace, seen in a cross, which establishes and explains every aspect of existence. The gospel’s cross exalting core rests not on human wisdom, but on hidden wisdom. The wisdom of the cross is a mystery which no human ruler has ever understood. It is foolishness to the so-called enlightened and distained by the human-centered mind.

But the mystery of the gospel is wonderful to those who are called, to those whom God has been pleased to reveal it. The cross perfectly connects earth and eternity. It brings the greatness of the glory of the gospel of Christ into view thereby halting all arrogant speculations and humbling all before the inexplicable mercy of God. The knowledge of such a wonderful redeeming God does not come through an understanding of historical precedent. On the contrary the self-authenticating, supernatural, spiritual revelation of the gospel in the soul comes through the power of the Spirit of God. It is the spiritual impartation of the gospel that enables right understanding of history. History, in this sense, begins at the cross and works backward and forward from it. For no one could have guessed from the beginning, what God would do. And no one coming after the cross can grasp the wisdom of the cross unless he is given new eyes and a new heart.

I praise you Lord for the glorious gospel of grace in the message of the cross. For by it your righteousness is exalted and by it I have life. Lord set the eyes of my heart on the glory of the cross and let your Spirit flow with power to proclaim and adorn the gospel – to the glory of Christ above. Amen.

The baptism of John was a baptism of repentance, so one could interpret this passage “the people acknowledged God’s justice for they had repented, but the Pharisees rejected God’s purpose for themselves because they had not repented.” Looking to God from a position of repentance causes us to delight in Him and acknowledge His justice. Whereas engaging Him from a position of pride, without repentance, only makes us like the Pharisee, perplexed, suspicious and arrogant, as we ultimately reject God’s purposes, His forgiveness, and His salvation.

This episode contrasting the Pharisees and the sinful woman demonstrates the profound difference between knowing Jesus with and without repentance. The Pharisee invited Jesus to dinner, not because desired to be with Jesus or to draw near to Him – but more likely because he thought Jesus might make an interesting dinner guest. He wanted to check Jesus out – to see if He might be able to discern whether He was a prophet or not. Perhaps this Pharisee thought that getting some face time with Jesus would allow him to develop a stronger position on the subject of who Jesus was – thereby making him more influential among his peers. Whatever motivated the invitation, it was not faith and repentance.

The sinful woman, on the other hand, came to Him full of repentance. She saw Jesus as Lord and one through whom she could receive forgiveness for her many sins. Her repentance and faith caused her heart to be filled with love and mournful joy as she wept and washed His feet with her tears. The same Jesus sat before both of them. To one He was worshiped as savior while the other rejected Him, disqualifying Him as a prophet because He received the worship of a sinner.

O how much better is repentance as a prescription for failing eyesight than any pair of glasses. Put on repentance and brokenness over sin and the glory of Christ majestically comes into view. Without repentance Jesus is just a man – a man of confusion whose words and actions are often incomprehensible. With repentance Jesus is glorious. Approach Him without repentance and all you can say is “who is this man?” Come before Him through repentance and you fall at His feet to worship!

O Lord, I’m so much more like the Pharisee than the sinful woman. How shallow is my repentance. Grant me, by your grace, deeper, fuller repentance that I might see Christ more clearly and love Him more. Break through my hard heart that I might fall down in tears and worship at His feet. Have mercy O Lord. Amen.

O Poor Pharisee, stuck in your old ways of performing righteousness – making much of your displays of prayer and fasting. You think such efforts will make you acceptable to God. You have drunk your old religion of law for so long that Jesus’ words are impossible for you to understand. Your legalistic ways offer no categories for this new wine of gospel grace. You question why Jesus’ followers don’t act like other religious people? The Lord’s answer comes back in riddles, stories, and parables you cannot understand by your categories of duty and performance.

Understanding this new wine – the gospel of grace – requires a new heart, one that delights in mercy, not one that boasts in self-righteousness. The gospel of grace cannot be ascertained from a mindset of works. It is perplexing, unworkable and paradoxical to such an approach to religion. Even the fundamental practices of religion such as prayer are altogether different, and fasting is turned inside out and upside down. All things are made new. Prayer changes, they are not coins of merit tossed, as it were, onto scales of self-righteousness – rather they become responses of joy in the presence of the Bridegroom – or equally poignant cries of longing for His return. The paradox of the new gospel heart is that it is full only when it is emptied and it trusts solely in the faithfulness of God to fill it. Old wineskins try to preserve meager quantities of religious effort, which quickly run dry.

O my soul, do you not see the sin of the Pharisee in your own heart? Do you not see how often you make the fruit of God’s grace into your own meager attempts to gain God’s approval? Spit out that old wine! Throw away that useless garment! Yes pray, and fast – but not as a pitiful performance to be seen by man, or to make yourself feel like your duty has been done – but only to see and rejoice in more of the Bridegroom’s glory.

O God you have taught me that prayer and fasting are not self completing actions – they have another end beyond themselves, a goal they strain toward. They seek out the presence of Christ. Jesus, make me pray – make me fast such that I might have more of you. More joy in your Word, more anticipation of your return, more desire for heaven and the eternal rewards that will come from your own hand.

Sustain the means of grace in my soul, in Jesus’s name I pray, amen.

How incredibly blessed these unnamed shepherds were to hear the multitude of heavenly host declare the glory of God and the gospel of Christ! This majestic revelation was an unexpected explosion of grace. God interrupted their night with a glorious proclamation about a Savior. How is it that such a display should be presented to but a few unnamed shepherds? Isn’t such a wonderful announcement, made through such an unearthly testimony, worthy of a wider audience? O, but it does have a wider audience, an audience that even includes me; I observe it in the Gospel of Luke. While the testimony of a multitude of heavenly hosts is spectacular, the testimony of God’s Word is far greater. In His Word God reveals the same message to me, 2000 years later, as He did for the shepherds that Holy night.

What did it the shepherds do when they heard this testimony? They went straight away, with haste, to see this child they had heard about. They had not planned on traveling into Bethlehem that night, but hearing of the birth of the Messiah they wanted nothing more than to see Him right away. And after finding and beholding the child, they began to make known all the statements they had been told. They told it to everyone they met, such that all who heard wondered about these things. Finally, when this night of nights was over, they did not stop glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen.

O my soul – be like one of these shepherds. When God reveals Himself, listen. Open your eyes to how He has revealed Himself so richly in His Word. When you hear the testimony of the Lord then go straight away to setting your eyes on Jesus. Behold your God and be amazed. Rejoice, worship, and delight yourself in the glory of the Lord. Then make known the statements you have heard. Speak of what you’re told, giving glory and praise to God.

Jude 24 is such a hopeful verse, “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy.” I am often dismayed at how rarely and how briefly I glimpse His glory so that I can rejoice in it. The eyes in this earthly body of mine just don’t have the capacity for beholding glory. Even when, in His mercy, God gives me a spiritual glimpse, its brightness fades quickly. Such glances are short refractions of glory, dimmed, and clouded. It is necessary for God to limit my view, because while I live in the body, if I were to get a direct view, I could not stand. I am simply unequipped to look at God. I could more easily stare directly into the sun and suffer fewer ill effects than if I looked directly into the glorified face of Christ. But I have the promise in Jude, that one day, Jesus will change my body, and I will have new eyes that have improved capacities – I will be able to stand in the very presence of His glory and look! I will not be destroyed. I will not shield my eyes. I will look and be filled with great joy!

Until then I wait, and I seek as many foretastes of His glory as I can. The place I look for, and find, these tastes in is in the Bible. God has revealed Himself in His Son, and His Son is revealed to me through the Spirit inspired Word, by Spirit empowered reading and meditation.

But O, how weakly I perceive glory, even when I put my eyes to His Word! How much glory there is in there, and how little I see it. How small is my capacity to observe and to preserve a view of His glory in His revealed Word.

This condition is inherent in all humanity. I take some solace that having limited perception is ordained by God for as long as I reside in my body. Even though the Bible is drenched in glory, and drips words about the glory of Christ, I only see His reflections. Even Mary, who was favored by God and blessed to carry the Son of God in her body, was limited in her perceptions.

Consider what she heard and what she asked of Gabriel. Gabriel left the presence of God to give her the message that she will bear the Christ. Here are a few of the glorious things he tells her about Christ. He will be great. He will be called the Son of the Most High. He will be given the throne of His father David. He will reign forever over the House of Jacob. His kingdom will have no end. Consider again, for a moment, some of the implications of these statements. He will remain forever. He will be the son of the Most high. As a Christian, living two thousand years later, I probably understand what that means better than Mary did at the moment she heard it. Nevertheless, I would think that such statements would elicit certain questions from her. How will He reign forever – won’t He die like every other king of Israel died? How can any man be called the Son of the Most High? These were perplexing and amazing statements!

But like all of us, Mary’s mind grabs hold of the more immediate, earthly question, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” Her question is not about the one who would be called great, but about how it would take place, and technically how it could be possible.

There is nothing wrong with her question. It is relevant. It is appropriate. And it receives a full answer. But it reminds me so much of how I read glorious Christ-centered revelations that speak of His majesty and beauty, yet blindly pass over these glory statements and instead fix on the earthly practical parts. “Husband’s love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her.” How many books are written to help us apply this verse to our marriages – as well they should! But how quickly I pass over the Christ-displaying, kingdom oriented eternal purpose of Christian marriage to get to the practical application of loving my wife. All scripture is like this. All of it reveals Christ. It uses all my earthly circumstances, but constantly draws my attention heavenward, “…keep seeking the things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on the things of the earth,” Colossians 3:1-2. But gravity pulls my view downward and just as quickly as I get a heavenly glimpse, my attention is back on the immediate concerns of the day.

So what am I to do? By the grace of God and by the power of the Holy Spirit I shall strive to set my mind on things above by looking intently into the Word for those breaking moments of glory in which Jesus is revealed to my soul. I will treasure these moments. I will also try to be humble, like Mary, and accept that God has ordained the days of my life which include living with limited capacities and narrow vision. I will strive for much, but accept whatever frequency and whatever degree God permits.

“He has made everything appropriate in its time. He has also set eternity in their heart, yet so that man will not find out the work which God has done from the beginning even to the end. I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime; moreover, that every man who eats and drinks sees good in all his labor – it is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will remain forever; there is nothing to add to it and there is nothing to take from it, for God has so worked that men should fear Him. Ecclesiastes 3:11-14

So be it, Lord Jesus.