Laying Hold of God’s Glory

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (ESV)

Glory is one of those words that, well, we intuitively know what it means, but if I asked you for a succinct definition of that word “glory” would you be able to give me one?

We tend to think of glory more by way of practical example. When a football team wins a hard-fought grand final, when an athlete wins gold under duress, when a tennis star wins a grand slam tournament in the heat of the summer sun … and we see them standing their prize up high, that’s when we want to trot out that word, glory.

But what does glory mean when it comes to God and what, if anything, does the glory of God have to do with our lives here and now, with all the challenges we’re facing, with the grind of our daily lives?

Well, maybe that’s one of the reasons that Jesus came to this earth:

John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (ESV)

For a long time, that didn’t make all that much sense to me, but it harks back to the time when God journeyed with Israel through the wilderness, as a pillar of cloud by day (shade) and a pillar of fire by night (warmth, light) for forty years. That word “dwelt” actually means “tabernacled” the way He did back in the tent, the tabernacle in Moses’ day.

And the more I get to know Him, the more His shade shields me from the harsh sun, the more His fire warms me in the cold and shines light into my dark patches, the more the glory of God floods the depths of my soul. Jesus.

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.

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