the story of glory

"The Messiah was the only one who didn't have a messiah complex." This was one of the many pithy statements Steve Hawthorne from Waymakers made last night at Week 2 of the Perspectives course I am taking on Wednesday nights this spring. Another was, "Do what you're given, not what you're driven." His point being, even Jesus left needs unmet while on earth. So none of us should feel like we are responsible for responding to every need around us. Not only is that impossible (and a recipe for disaster if we try), but Jesus never commanded or modeled that kind of behavior. Jesus knew what His work on earth consisted of, and he never drifted--every interaction, every miracle, every word was purposeful and intended to accomplish one thing: reveal God's glory.

As Steve pointed out last night, glory is a very "churchy" word. When was the last time you heard anyone use it outside the walls of a house of worship? More often in every day language people use words like "beautiful" or "amazing" when describing something "glorious". But I came to appreciate this word in a whole new way last night while listening to Steve speak. He made me consider that glory is the thing we all take notice of wherever it is found in the world (in creation, art, music, people). Glory is part of who we are as humans made in God's image--and we are therefore meant to increasingly reflect God's glory to others in the world, that we might be a blessing to them and bring honor to Him.

One of the most stunning expressions of this truth is found in this verse: "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."(2 Corinthians 3:18)

Wow.