We saw his glory

We saw his glory.

Before God became man in Jesus, the closest that any ordinary Jewish person came to “seeing” God’s glory occurred just once a year on the Day of Atonement.   On that day, and only on that day, the high priest was allowed to enter the inner sanctuary of the Temple where God dwelt.   No one else could encounter God and experience his glory face to face.

But when Jesus became one of us, he gave all of us the privilege of seeing God’s glory—because he himself is the glory of God!   Jesus made something that was abstract into something that was personal and real.   Imagine the emotion that his disciples felt when they told their fellow Jews, “No one has ever seen God,” but “we have seen his glory.”

In today’s Scripture (John 1:14) contains many statements about Jesus that can sound abstract and a little mysterious.   He is the bearer of “grace and truth” (John 1:14), the light shining “in the darkness” (1:5), and the one through whom we receive life (1:12).   But far from being abstract, these words don’t describe something God does in a vacuum.   They describe what Jesus wants to do for each of us.

Jesus wants to show you the difference between true life-giving thoughts and toxic, negative ones.   He wants to shine the light of his mercy on the situations that you find hopeless and disappointing.   And he wants to take the areas of your heart that feel dead and give them fresh strength and newness.   Whatever it is that you most need, God has sent his Son to help you.   He sent his Son so that you too could proclaim “I have seen his glory.”

God is not far away!   He dwells with you and he wants to reveal himself to you in your everyday circumstances.   So as you continue growing in 2019, spend some time asking him where you most need to see his glory in your life.   Surrender those areas to him.   Ask him how he wants to show you his grace and his truth in those situations in the coming year.

Jesus came to dwell among us so that we could witness his glory in every area of our lives—even those we have most given up on!

Word Among Us