Glory Bound
6 min read
38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” 43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
John 11:38-44
I frequently pray for God to show me His glory in the same way that Moses did on Mount Sinai (Exodus 33:18). God’s response to Moses was to give him a theophany of Himself:
“The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”
Exodus 34:6-7
What it takes to see the glory of God is faith in the word of God (verse 40). Where there is faith, there is a deep hunger to experience the glory of God. And yet, such hunger in and of itself is not enough to experience God’s glory.
Where there is faith, there is also obedience to the word of God. Jesus said to roll the stone away, and His disciples rolled away the stone. Jesus said to take off Lazarus’s grave clothes, and His disciples took of his grave clothes.
To obey Jesus Christ is to participate with Him in the Father’s great plan of salvation for the world in Christ Jesus—to fill the earth with the glory of God through God-fearing, God-honoring, God-worshiping, God-loving communities and families, the church.
To obey Jesus Christ is to be with Him because we are following Him—to go where He goes, do what He does, and say what He says.
God wants us to want Him. God wants us to want to see His glory.
And I have seen His glory. I have seen His glory in people being saved. I have seen His glory in lives being healed and transformed. I have seen His glory in people being brought out of death into eternal life. And I want to see more of His glory. And not just see. I want to experience His glory.
Father, Show me Your glory and draw me into Your glory. Give me eyes to see and ears to hear so that I might follow my Lord. Give me beautiful feet and glory-filled lips to carry and to proclaim the good news into every opportunity that You open for me. Let me witness You bring people from death to life and participate with You in that glorious work. In Jesus’s name. Amen.
