I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do. John 17:4 (NASB)
As I read what Jesus said to the Father in the high priestly prayer at the end of the Upper Room Discourse, I thought about what I do to glorify the Father's name, and how far short I fall of what Jesus did. He did it out of complete love for the Father, total obedience to His will, and completed the task. His was an atoning death, sufficient as a substitute for all of us, for all our sins.
My weak attempts always seem to have something of a selfish motive to it, it is always about me in some way, shape or form, never entirely about God. Jesus was all about doing the Father's will. While I try to model Christ, I am reminded of my inability to do so at His level of living, and dying. And in the reminder is the sweet message of salvation He offers in spite of my failures (or maybe because of them). What is amazing to me is the scope of this simple sentence, a few words detailing the love within the Godhead, first and foremost between and amongst the triune God and then with each of us, sinners all.
I cannot glorify the Father as did the Son, nor can I glorify the Son as is His due. But I can try the best I can and He will have whatever glory my effort yields as the harvest of my heart and soul.
2 comments:
Great message!
Motivation is something that bothers me. What is my motive for doing this? Am I doing it to glorify God or to glorify myself?
I am so far from being humble... but I guess that's what we learn as we journey down the narrow road!
I know what you mean, Andy. I don't feel like I've ever done a thing from completely pure motives. I think that may part, though not all, of what Paul is speaking to when he says, "Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay stubble - each man's work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire." 1Cor.2:12-15.
I hope this means that the impure motives will be burned away from the pure ones that were alongside them, leaving only the good things God has done through us, no longer filthied by our dirty little hands. It's my prayer, that by His grace, there will be some gold or jewels left on that day for both of us.
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