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We think too much in worldly terms concerning glory -- and other things, too.
1) Paul is clear in 1 Cor 1 that it is God's intention to shame the worldly powers in all their greatness by means of those who are weak and shameful in the eyes of the world. The world has one idea of what power and glory are, and the church has another, opposite idea. From our standpoint, the world's power and glory are vain, but our power is glorious, because we know and are empowered in all our weakness by God the Lord. The world, on the other hand, is empowered in all its strength by that fallen angel doomed to the Lake of Fire.
2) Think about Christ's suffering. He was doomed by the world, and the Prince of this World, to shameful death on the Cross. Yet, from the standpoint of faith, our Lord on the cross reigned as from a throne!
3) Think about our sufferings as we follow in the footsteps of Christ. The world thinks that our hope in Christ in the age to come dooms us to lack of self-fulfillment in this age. From our perspective, any hope of self-fulfillment in this age is futile. The only real hope of any fulfillment lies in the age to come.
4) The world thinks that disease and difficulty, and eventually death, are evils to be avoided at all costs. Suffering, while occasionally seen by the world as heroic, is really looked upon as an unmitigated evil. From our perspective, we learn obedience through suffering. Our character is built through suffering. In suffering we give thanks, and testify to the grace of God, because we know that we will be rewarded with eternal rewards for spiritual endurance through suffering.
These instances could be multiplied. In every case the world's conception is opposite to ours. What is glorious to the world is hateful to us. What is glorious to us is hateful to the world. The world fears the world to come, because they know they will get what they deserve. We long for the world to come, where we will receive as a gift the full inheritance of all that God has to give. It will be a day of fulfillment and glory, in the only world that matters, and our lives are now filled with joy and anticipation as we wait for it by faith.
Paul said that he was crucified to the world (in Christ), and that the world was crucified (subjected to capital punishment) with respect to him. The Cross is the great separator that crucifies the relationship between this age and the one to come.
Christ was made sin for us, taking away our sins on the cross, and triumphing over death for us, so that we might be made the righteousness of God in him by faith.
Therefore, believe and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling upon the name of the Lord! Receive the Spirit of God who wages war against sin within us, and who fills us with all joy! That Spirit is himself God's own down-payment to us from the inheritance we are destined to receive in the Age to Come!
Christian mystic William Law pointed out that our willing participation in the life of Christ AND the death of this world glorifies God. By this we agree with God that the consequence of sin, that is his wrath exercised in death, is good and holy. God is right to condemn wrong. Furthermore, God is pleased when we patiently endure the suffering and in fact gives us the strength to do so.
ReplyDeleteBut somehow we have to come to terms with the Apostle Paul described as "weak", for surely he exercised great power and endured things that would have killed most. I think we should connect this with our Lord's admonition to the disciples:
"A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest. Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." ~ Luke 22:24-30 (NIV)
Let me add that if sin is to fail to uphold the image of God and Lord Jesus is that perfect image, then it is sin not to be a servant to all. And to practice servant-hood IS to suffer and appear weak.
P.S. -- And Boyd, I've always thought you had meekness down pat.
Looks are deceiving :-).
ReplyDeleteReviewed and retained.
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