THE GLORY OF GOD AND OUR DISAPPOINTMENT IN FALLING SHORT

Jesus is my role-model. He never sought His own glory or honor but the Father’s:

·       “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’” ( John 8:54 ESV)

·       “For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. And I know that his commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me.” (John 12:49-50; 14:10, 24; 10:37)

Jesus wasn’t a people-pleaser. Instead, His entire focus was on the 1^st great commandment - pleasing the Father. In contrast to the Pharisees, Jesus claimed, “I do not receive glory from people (John 5:41).

According to Jesus, the Pharisees and the rest of the religious leadership did everything to obtain the glory from man:

·       “They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.” (Matthew 23:5-7)

This demonstrated that they cared little about pleasing God:

·       “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” (John 5:44)

If we pursue the praise and esteem of man, we demonstrate a lack of interest in the praise of God.

I know better. I want nothing more than to hear the words of my Savior: “Well done good and faithful servant.” I know better than to pursue the empty praise of man. It is a psychological trap:

·       The fear of man [of his opinions] lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is safe. (Proverbs 29:25)

Nevertheless, my flesh still longs for that praise and approval.

This is both humbling and embarrassing, but I have learned that the struggle against our dark side is necessary and normal for the Christian:

·       We will struggle with the flesh unto we go to be with Jesus – For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. (Galatians 5:17)

This teaching helps me accept the fact the Lord doesn’t remove our sinful impulses. In fact, we need them to grow. A butterfly must struggle to emerge from its cocoon. Without this struggle, they cannot develop properly.

Nevertheless, it is discouraging to see the evil that hides in our flesh like cockroaches in the crevices of our apartment. We never dreamed that we could harbor such evil. However, our Lord puts us in the caldron and turns up the heat to bring the evil, our nauseating impurities, up to surface:

·       For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? (1 Peter 4:17; John 15:2)

We recoil at the mess and wonder, “How can God love me? How can I merit anything good from Him?” We pray that this God is more merciful than we had ever dared to dream, and we find that He is! In gratefulness, we want to follow Him at the expense of our own tarnished dreams and desires.

I think that this is what Peter meant when, enigmatically, he wrote:

·       Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God. (1 Peter 4:1-2)

Consequently, I no longer want my own ways, even my own thoughts. I just want His words and thoughts. I pray for my daily bread to resist the indwelling evil, the temptations and fears that lust to take me captive.