Learning to Long
I remember the first time I beheld God's glory. I was an eleven-year-old at summer camp and the night sky was dazzling with a full moon and diamond-like stars. We were sitting around the campfire watching the sparks fly upward. The warm summer wind blew across my face, making the pine trees surrounding us sway. Our counselors were leading us in worship songs.
The music was in perfect harmony and full of life.
My heart burned within me.
It was not enough to witness this magical night.
I wanted more. I wanted to be part of it.
In his essay “The Weight of Glory,” C.S. Lewis explains these moments:
We usually notice it just as the moment of vision dies away, as the music ends or as the landscape loses the celestial light. What we feel then has been well described by Keats as “the journey homeward to habitual self.” You know what I mean. For a few minutes we have had the illusion of belonging to that world. Now we wake to find that it is no such thing. We have been mere spectators. Beauty has smiled, but not to welcome us; her face was turned in our direction, but not to see us. We have not been accepted, welcomed, or taken into the dance . . . .
A scientist may reply that since most of the things we call beautiful are inanimate, it is not very surprising that they take no notice of us. That, of course, is true. It is not the physical objects that I am speaking of, but that indescribable something of which they become for a moment the messengers. And part of the bitterness which mixes with the sweetness of that message is due to the fact that it so seldom seems to be a message intended for us but rather something we have overheard. We pine . . . .
What more, you may ask, do we want? Ah, but we want so much more – we do not want merely to see beauty, though, God knows, even that is bounty enough. We want something else which can hardly be put into words – to be united with the beauty we see, to pass into it, to receive it into ourselves, to bathe in it, to become part of it.[1]
That is what I experienced that summer night. It was not enough to just to see it. I witnessed God's beauty and glory and pined to be part of it.
Glory is mentioned 328 times in the Bible.
What is glory?
It is described as splendor or brightness.
“Glory is the light of divine delight. Specifically, it is the brilliant emanating overflow expression of God's infinite delight in being God. Glory light expresses God's glorious worth,” theologian Sam Storms explains. He continues,“Glory is what you see and experience and feel when God goes public with his beauty.”[2]
2 Thessalonians 1:1-12 speaks about the awe-inspiring day when Messiah will return. In Chapter One, the Thessalonians were experiencing severe hardships and persecution. Their trials were so intense that they believed the false report that the rapture had already occurred, and they were now living in the tribulation. Can you imagine?
Paul's letter begins with recognition and praise of the church. They were not just growing and loving in the midst of hardship, but their faith grew exceedingly and their love abounded. This is proof God's grace was at work in their lives.
The Greek word charis, translated "grace," references the divine influence upon the heart and its reflection in one's life. That is why we see the Thessalonians thriving despite their circumstances. Paul reminds the believers of their secure and glorious future as well as the recompense of those who were persecuting them, then ends the first section interceding for them.
In verse seven we read that the Lord Jesus will be revealed in His glory. The veil that hides Him from our sight will be taken away. When He comes again it will not be a petty local sideshow like what the Thessalonians had believed to happen. He will fill the sky with His awe-inspiring cosmic splendor! Jesus said it will be like lightning that flashes across the whole sky . . . filling our senses with His majesty.
Verse 10 states that the Lord Jesus will be glorified in His people. In the past, Scripture revealed the glory of the Lord in different ways: the glory cloud that led the Israelites, the visible radiance of Moses’ face, the glory cloud that fills the tabernacle/temple, and Jesus' transfiguration.
But this time – in the future – His glory will not only be objective (so we see it) but also in His people (so we can share it).
We will be glorified.
Completely transformed into the Messiah's image.
The glory/beauty of Messiah will be displayed to us and in us.
Being remade in His image is our goal and aim. The person of the Lord Jesus is our reward.
In response to this knowledge of future events Paul prays that the believers will be counted worthy of this calling.
What calling?
This is the calling of sanctification through suffering. Suffering is part of the process by which God counts us worthy of His Kingdom. Suffering causes us to long for the promise of rest and presence of our Beloved.
C.S. Lewis writes in his essay, “Longing transforms obedience as gradually as a tide lifts a grounded ship.”[3]
The hardships we faced this past year were excruciating. Every earthly comfort seemed to vanish. It was a dark night of the soul for so many.
But . . . in the midst of the crushing pressure, we can hear the faint whispers of the Beloved steadying us. There is a deep intimacy that is derived from the crucible.
I am learning to long. That longing has transformed my obedience.
To hear “Well done” from Him is my heart’s desire.
He is worthy of my faith and obedience.
Since we will see and share in the glory of Messiah, we should walk worthy of our calling and reflect the beauty of His person to our broken world.
Written by Kori, LIFE Staff
17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).
“What are you looking at?” is a great diagnostic question. It’s easy to focus on the hardships with downcast eyes and discouraged hearts.
It’s in the upward gaze we glimpse God’s glory. What can you do today – right now – to “look at the things which are not seen” to gain an eternal perspective?
May the Lord be the “lifter of your head” today. Let us know how the Lord is redirecting your focus.
Footnotes:
[1] You can read the full essay HERE.
[2] Storms is quoted in Steve DeWitt's book, Eyes Wide Open: Enjoying God in Everything.
[3] Quotation from “The Weight of Glory.”