"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen." - 2 Peter 3:18
"My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples." - John 15:8
Throughout my years in Church, speaking and teaching, a primary focus of mine has been on what i call "church words". Terms that denote a spiritual maturity when utilized, yet leave the hearer doing little more than thinking, "Wow...that's deep".
Yet when we look at how God communicated with His chosen people, at how Jesus spoke to His followers, we see pure and unmeasurable WISDOM communicating in the most simplistic manner (like a wise old grandfather lovingly teaching his two-year-old grandchild with a picture book).
God's message, the Bible, is replete with imagery, stories, examples, prototypes, all calling to us for understanding.
DISCIPLESHIP (both in being and making) and GLORIFYING are two prime examples of church words. But such terms must not be glossed over or taken lightly.
Jesus came and spoke to them saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you." - Matthew 28:18-20
"So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." - 1 Corinthians 10:31
Jesus showed us the WAY by becoming a man and living our EXAMPLE...
Jesus prayed, "Father, I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do." - John 17:4
Jesus showed us HOW to live as a DISCIPLE...
Paul said, "Imitate me, just as i also imitate Christ." - 1 Corinthians 11:1
LIGHT is the GLORY of a CANDLE.
Glory is the radiance; it is the manifestation of an attribute.
Light is so much the essence of the candle that we often refer to it by its glory, "Please move the light closer."
Understanding God's glory is the KEY to us glorifying Him in all that we do, "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." - 1 Corinthians 10:31
"For you have been bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body." - 1 Corinthians 6:20
Understanding GLORY (and TO GLORIFY)
Do we glorify God when proclaiming the gospel, or when we clearly and accurately explain Biblical truths?
Do we glorify God by being immensely kind and charitable?
Would we glorify God by standing firm in faith, even while being persecuted or killed?
The answer to all these questions is NO, UNLESS...
Paul explains that all those actions, and any other that we think are estimable, are but USLESS NOISE and of no account... UNLESS they are manifestations of LOVE (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
LOVE is the KEY.
LOVE is the RADIANCE of GOD.
LOVE is so much the ESSENCE of GOD that we are told, "God is love."
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." - 1 John 4:7-8
"No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us." - 1 John 4:12
How did Jesus glorify God?
How could Jesus say, "Whoever has seen Me, has seen the Father" - 1 John 14:9?
Jesus radiated God's love, just as a candle's light is reflected by a mirror.
The Father showered His love onto the Son, and the Son reflected it to His beloved, thus displaying the Father.
The CANDLE represents God,
The LIGHT represents His love,
The MIRROR represents a disciple of Christ...
Jesus literally said, "Let Me show you how to live."
How to live by relying on and receiving God's love in FAITH.
How to be a faithful STEWARD of God's provisions.
How to reflect God's love with ALL our heart, all our soul, all our mind, all our strength.
How to LOVE your neighbor as if yourself.
How much does God love us (every human being who has ever lived)?
"For in Him we live and move and have our being." - Acts 17:28
"What do you have that you did not receive?" - 1 Corinthians 4:7
ALL is from HIM for us.
How much does God love us?
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son..." - John 3:16
"But God showed His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8
ALL is by HIM for us.
How much does Christ love us?
"He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed." - 1 Peter 2:24
"No one take My life from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord." - John 10:18
TOTAL SACRIFICE by HIM for us.
All we are and have; our body, abilities, opportunities; our life, families, friends; are from God to us. Pure sacrificial Love emanating from its SOURCE (God).
Because of this, we have the OPPORTUNITY (and ability) to love others by reflecting His love... From God, through us, to others.
Jesus commanded, "Love one another as I have loved you." - John 15:12
"As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace." - 1 Peter 4:10
Understanding DISCIPLESHIP : following Christ's example.
"We love because He first loved us." - 1 John 4:19
We can only love because HE first loved us. Unless the candle provides the light, the mirror cannot reflect it (and is useless).
We receive His love which enables and equips us to love others, or to love ourselves.
Why is an apple RED? Because it absorbs the entire light spectrum except the red, which it reflects. Without LIGHT the apple is not red.
White reflects all the light, thus is white.
Black absorbs all the light, thus is black.
OBEDIENCE, to both the Greatest Command and the New Command, is by REFLECTING God's love to someone in need.
SIN (disobedience, rebellion) is ABSORBING God's love unto ourselves, to fulfill our greed.
Our actions can imitate Jesus's actions. We can serve others, communicate God's truth to others, be obedient to much of Scripture, and even wash feet... but without love we do not glorify God.
When affected by sin, Adam & Eve considered and prioritized SELF. "I am naked!", and they hid from God.
The natural man and carnal Christian continue gazing primarily at SELF.
"Anyone who listens to the Word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror..." - James 1:23
When we receive God's abundant love (as a mirror receives light from the source), we can either absorb it unto our self or reflect it unto others.
SIDENOTE:
Why is anyone that's hung upon a tree, "Accursed of God"? (Deuteronomy 21:23, Galatians 3:13)
What does it mean that, "God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf..." - 2 Corinthians 5:21
Jesus reflected all of God, He spoke and did everything through what the Father provided (John 12:49). Even as a boy, Jesus was about His Father's business (Luke 2:49). Jesus had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him (Isaiah 53:2). Jesus held fast, "Not MY will, but YOURS be done." (Luke 22:44). Through all of this, He was perfectly obedient to "Loving the Lord your God with all His heart, all His soul, and all His strength" (Deuteronomy 6:5).
But now, for the pinnacle moment within all of Creation, EVERYTHING became focused upon Him. Why is someone hung upon a tree ACCURSED?
Because they draw ALL the attention, the moment becomes entirely about them.
While upon the cross...
Jesus took all the attention,
Jesus absorbed all that God radiated.
Everything became BLACK (Matthew 27:45, Mark 15:33, Luke 23:44).
It was ALL about Jesus, THE CHRIST... for us.
"Moses made a bronze serpent and held it up on a pole, and anyone who gazed upon it lived." - Numbers 21:9
God's "picture book" for our UNDERSTANDING.
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