Romans 8:29-30 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren; and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.
1 Peter 5:10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.
These two verses have been on my mind since Sunday after they were mentioned in the message so I figured that I'd just share a little of what's been on my mind.. I remember getting excited when the brother shared this verse because we had memorized it and I was able to recite the verse without having to turn to it. haha Sometimes I wonder if I actually remember any of the verses we memorize and it was the Lord's way of showing me that having His word in memory truly is a precious thing.
The idea of God's glory is something I've been hearing a lot recently and it has caused me to reflect upon what it means to see God's glory and to be brought into His glory. For some reason I have always thought of it as some high spiritual doctrine that was too hard for me to grasp but I have come to understand that although it may be something I am not yet able to fully grasp, I am able to get a glimpse of what it means to live in His glory.
I've come to realize that glory is simply the manifestation of the nature of God. Wherever the presence of God is able to dwell, there His glory can be found. As the people of God we should long after His presence daily so that we can continuously live in His glory. Romans tells us that we have been predestined for His glory but 1 Peter tells us that we have also been predestined for affliction. Why is it that we must suffer in order to be brought into His glory? It is because we are unable to see His glory when our old self is still present. The brother used an interesting example that I'd like to share. He shared about the transformation of the caterpillar into a butterfly. You can throw a caterpillar into the air and hope that it will remain there but we all know that it will fall. Even if you pick it up and throw it higher into the air, it will not suddenly become a butterfly and remain in the air. In order for that caterpillar to fly it must first die and a new life must arise; the life of the butterfly. It is the same for us. We can hope to live in glory but when our old life is still alive we will only fall. It is only through the lessons of the cross and the afflictions that we go through that our old life can die and our new life can arise, that is why we must be predestined for affliction. Without affliction we will not come to see that our old life must die. Every affliction comes with a purpose and they are all hand-picked and appointed by God.
This is a comfort to me because I know that no suffering can enter my life without first receiving the approval of God. When we choose to reject the lessons of affliction we are actually missing out on the opportunity to fulfill the purpose of that affliction in our life. When we are able to accept the lessons God teaches us through affliction, the earthen vessel that we live in can be broken and the inner man can be lived out. I feel that this is something we all know but I have to admit that each time affliction arises my outer man seems to win. May we allow God to sift and shake us so that we may become more rooted in Him and be brought into His glory. At the same time we do praise our Lord because He has already promised that He will perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish us in His glory, we need only to submit ourselves before Him.
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