The Glory of Kings (3 of 3)

—by David D. Herring

“It is the glory of God to conceal a matter; to search out a matter is the glory of kings.” (Proverbs 25:2)

Jesus showed us how to be king.  He showed us how to glorify, and be glorified by, God.

Notice how Jesus prayed in John 12:28:  “ ‘Father, glorify your name!’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.’ ” 

Jesus didn’t say, “Father, I’m about to do something kingly and great, and you will be glorified by the thing I’m about to do.”  Rather, Jesus was saying, “Please glorify Yourself by doing something kingly and great through Me.”

Keying in on the word “glory,” I’m struck by how many times Jesus referred to His mission to glorify, and to be glorified by, His Heavenly Father.  (There isn’t enough space to write them all out here but see, for example, John 8:54; 14:13; 15:8; 16:14; 17:1; 17:4-5; etc.)   Specifically, Jesus’ mission was to take our sinful nature into himself and then destroy it so that, in turn, we could receive God’s kingly and glorious nature into ourselves and live forever.  The good news is Jesus succeeded in His mission!  It’s done!  Death died on the cross.  Jesus lives; and if we invite Him to live in us then we will live forever in Him.

So, as a king, what is left for me to do?  “I will serve Him,” I think.  Ahh, there’s a trap!  I fall into it time and time again.  To this day, I keep falling into the same old trap of glorifying my works of service.  This is precisely how the Pharisees and Sadducees went astray.  They were so focused on glorifying themselves in their roles as scribes and spiritual leaders that they forgot how, or stopped choosing, to be in the right relationship with God.  They stopped searching out a matter, preferring instead their own glory.  Are we any different today?

Reflecting on my own thoughts and actions, I have to admit I was on the road to becoming like the Pharisees and Sadducees, thinking:  “Look how much I am learning.  More than most!  Look how well I am serving God.  Better than most!  Am I not kingly?  Am I not glorious?”  I began to deify my knowledge and worship my works of service; ironically, at the expense of my relationship with God.

What are you doing?

It took me a long time to hear this question.  And when I finally heard it, I heard what was implied by it:  I don’t want your service.  I want you.

To truly hear these words spoken to you by God is to be simultaneously thrilled and terrified.    It is to begin to know His glory and the manner in which He will glorify you.  It is to begin to have a sense of how Moses felt when God allowed him into His presence.  It is to begin to have a sense of how Peter felt when he stepped out of the boat, took Jesus by the hand, and walked on water.  Imagine how absurd it would have been for Peter to say: “Let go of my hand, Jesus, I want to do it my way.”  This is precisely the absurd turn I took in my walk with Jesus.  I was trying to walk on water, I realized, and wasn’t walking with Him.

“How then should I live, Father?” I asked.  “How shall I search out the matter that you have concealed?  How may I glorify, and be glorified, by You?”

God let me wait a long time, and then His answer came in the form of words spoken over 100 years ago by the missionary preacher Oswald Chambers.  When I read his words, they rang as loud and clear and true to my mind as though Chambers was in the room speaking to me.  He said:  “All of God’s revealed truths are sealed until they are opened to us through obedience.  You will never open them through philosophy or thinking.  But once you obey, a flash of light comes immediately. …it is not study that brings understanding to you, but obedience.  Even the smallest bit of obedience opens heaven, and the deepest truths of God immediately become yours.”1

God conceals His glory from us not because He doesn’t want us to find it.  On the contrary, He delights in revealing His glory to us if only we will seek it.  But we cannot find it on our own, and certainly not within ourselves.  He must be a part of the process, and the process doesn’t begin until we faithfully follow His instructions.  When we do, we begin to perceive His glory and others perceive it too, shining through us.

Chambers said: “It is a matter of obedience, and once we obey, the relationship is instantly perfected.  But if we turn away from obedience for even one second, darkness and death are immediately at work again.”1

The trick isn’t getting into the know, it is getting out of one’s own way!  Indeed, it is getting into the way that Jesus showed us.  Jesus repeatedly explained how He came to do the will of His Father.  He obeyed His Father in every situation, even though it meant giving all of himself.  This is the deeper meaning of Proverbs 25:2 — God’s glory becomes yours when you give all your heart to the process of seeking it.

The process of walking by faith in this way becomes a “positive feedback loop” of glorification both for Jesus and for those who walk with Him.  A fractal pattern begins to emerge in us, with Him in us and us in Him, when we seek Jesus with all our hearts.  We find Him in the Word (The Bible) and we find that He is the Word.  We begin to make sense out of the paradox that Word was with God and the Word was God.  We begin to accept the reality that the Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us.  We begin to catch glimpses of His glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:1-14)

Notice the fractal way in which Jesus prayed as He prepared to give His all for you and me: “Father, the hour has come.  Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. ...I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.  And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began. …I have revealed you to those [disciples] whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. ...All I have is yours, and all you have is mine.  And glory has come to me through them. ...Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. ...I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.” (John 17:1-26)

“Jesus,” I pray, “I want to walk with You.  I want You to be in me so that I may be in You.  Lord, why is it so hard for me to obey?”

Because you don’t trust me.  You haven’t fully accepted My reality and, therefore, you still rely upon your own reality.  Using your own devices, the glory you create is yours not Mine.  Whose will you choose?

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1 Chambers, Oswald: “How Will I Know?”  October 10 devotional in My Utmost For His Highest.  Copyright 1992, by Oswald Chambers Publications Association, Ltd.  

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Discussion Questions:

1. Do you trust in Jesus completely?  Do you truly believe that Jesus succeeded in His mission to take away the sins of all who believe in Him?

2. Are you willing to obey Him no matter the cost?  Have there been occasions when a lack of trust in Jesus caused you to disobey Him?   

3. How might glorifying your works of service reveal a lack of trust in Him?