Glory

“I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.  And now Father,

 glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” (John 17:4-5).

“Now they know that everything you gave me comes from you.” (verse 7)

“And glory has come to me through them.” (verse 10).

We live on the earth and can only imagine what glory would look like in the physical.  How would it affect our lives here?  Jesus’ relationship with His heavenly Father gives us a glimpse into glory.

Because Jesus knew His Father and did what His Father said to do, it affected Jesus’ life.  Jesus’ life, in turn, affected those around Him.  Because Jesus knew God’s ways and acted on them, He made God look good (John 14:9-11).  He glorified God by showing Him to people.  In the same way, our children glorify us when they take what is ours and put it to good use in the world.  Whether good teaching, riches, wisdom . . . when our children emulate the good in us, they glorify us.  You might say that they make us look good.

Implementation of what His Father gave Him made both Jesus and God look good on the earth.  But we don’t see Jesus’ glorification until He goes to heaven.  Jesus told a parable about a servant who, when he had done all he was told to do, was advised to say that he was an unworthy servant, only doing his duty. (Luke 17:10).  In this same way, Jesus was our servant here on the earth until the end of His life, doing only what His Master, the Father, told Him to do. But let’s take a look at what happened when Jesus finished His work.

In Revelation 5 we read about a scene in heaven.  All who dwelt there recognized Jesus’ work here on the earth.  They sang

“You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.  You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth. . . . To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!” (Rev 5:9-10 & 13). Jesus received His glory when His work was finished.

Jesus told His disciples that He would be treated poorly, and that they would also. 

“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it has hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, for this reason the world hates you.” (John 15:18-19) “For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?" (Luke 23:31). 

Jesus’ followers did not receive fame or glory on the earth, though they did the works of the Father.  Paul is well known to us for his writings, but during his apostleship some called him a false apostle and discredited his teachings. He finished the work God gave him to do without worldly reward. However, because of his faithful obedience, Paul’s works made God look good to us.

God also has works for us to do.  He eagerly anticipates the day we will be glorified for what we do here on earth.  I have experienced the angels singing our praises for taking the good things we have received from the Father and giving them to others.  They are excited whenever we make God look good.  Let us take heaven’s excitement into our own lives and complete the works God has given us.  Then, and only then, will we receive glory.  Amen.