LIVING IN THE VIEW OF GLORY (1)

“But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light” (Revelation 21:22-23 NKJV).

As we begin the last quarter of the year, it is necessary to refresh our mind on how far we have come since the beginning of the year. We opened the year with defining glory and discussing its varied manifestations surmising that Christ is the best and fullest expression of the glory of God. To know Christ is to know the glory of God. To abide in Him is to abide in the fullness of that glory. Everything there is to be revealed about the glory of God is clearly seen in Christ.  His life and work are most eloquent demonstrations of the glory of God. The ultimate expression of glory will be in the person of the glorified Jesus. I have sometimes exercised my mind trying to imagine how glorified Christ looks. John gave a glimpse of what he saw of Christ in his vision on the Island of Patmos. “His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength” (Revelation 1:14-16 NKJV). It makes sense when God told Moses that nobody could see His face and live.  Imagine looking straight into the sun shining in its full strength. Who can behold such a scorching brightness and live?

The greatest spectacle one can ever imagine is that of seeing Christ in glory. Seeing Him is the ultimate transforming experience for believers. The Apostle John explained, “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:2-3 NKJV). How can we ever wrap our finite mind around such an infinite thought as expressed by John, when he declared, “we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”  Think about this truth for a moment. You shall be like Christ as He is in glory! You will look like Him if you see Him. Our ultimate transformation is predicated on our ability to see Him. Are you planning to see Him in the glory land? Here are those who cannot see Him. “But cowards who turn back from following me, and those who are unfaithful to me, and the corrupt, and murderers, and the immoral, and those conversing with demons, and idol worshipers and all liars—their doom is in the Lake that burns with fire and sulphur. This is the Second Death” (Revelations 21: Living Bible). Get your name off this list by purifying yourself as you fix your affection in Christ. How can you achieve this? John reminds us “And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.”  That is the hope of seeing Him in glory. There is so much in the world today, that are forcing us to believe that life on earth is the ultimate reality. This is a lie.  We have a hope for a better life in a better world –the New Jerusalem.

In that eternal city, we would not have need for the sun or the moon because Jesus will provide all the light we would ever need.  His glory will illuminate the eternal city –“the Lamb will be its light.” Paul explains how we can book our place in that city of glory: “Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honour at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory” (Colossians 3:1-4 NLT). Let the thought of heaven fill your heart as you begin now to partake of its most fulfilling reality. We are designed to live from heaven to earth! Far from being merely a future experience of believers, God wants us to begin our experience of glory now –“As He is so are we in this earth” (1 John 4:17). O God let the light of your glory so shine on us now that we will both absorb and emit the same light for the world to see in Jesus’ Name.