"I'm rubbish!"
No, I don't really mean that,
but the thought has struck me down from time to time. Most of us mess up occasionally, and it's natural to feel
embarrassed about it. We may chide ourselves for our mistakes, but it's not those fleeting moments of self criticism t
hat worry me. My concern is for people who continually put themselves down - and especially those who think that's
what God expects of them. It does no honour to the Gospel to declare ourselves "miserable sinners" after
we have received salvation - and it's bad for our mental and spiritual health.
Big
Salvation is a miracle. God accepts us before
we make any move towards him then, when we accept him, he sets in progress an ongoing miracle that transforms us again
and again. Paul described the first part of that miracle in these words:
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." NOTE 1
Now that's big! Christ died for our sin before we gave him a thought. In fact, he anticipated our need long before we were born.
Clarity
The second part of the miracle is illustrated
in one of my favourite passages (also from Paul's writings). I'm quoting from the 400-year-old English version because
it includes the exact title of this blog:
"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory,
even as by the Spirit of the Lord." NOTE 2
However, for openness and clarity, I've added the text of two modern versions in the Notes. NOTE 3
Doxa
That phrase "from glory to glory" says a lot -
and it's a literal translation of the original New Testament language. The Greek word for "glory" is "doxa" and it appears
three times in that verse - once to refer to the Lord and twice to mean us.
Get that!
We know that Lord is glorious, but he says we are too! And the text doesn't say we're being changed from rubbish to glory.
It says we are being changed from glory to glory.
We are not rubbish!
Valuable
That word glory (doxa) often appears in the
New Testament, and it's only ever used in a positive sense. It always implies something good and valuable. And it's
usually used to refer to God's glory. Wow! But isn't that just what Paul implied when he said that Christ died for us
"while we were yet sinners"? He didn't see us as rubbish when we first came to him. Before we made any move towards
him, he saw us as valuable - he saw us as people worth saving. And he started a work in us that will enhance our
value even further.
Polished
A rough diamond is already considered
valuable when it's taken out of the ground, though its potential beauty is not yet apparent. It is taken from the
mine and given to skilled workers who will cut and polish it, shaping the facets that will make it shimmer with
glorious magnificence. But nothing will be added that wasn't always there. The polished diamond is the same stone
that came out of the mine, but with bits cut away. What a superb analogy for sanctification!
Glowing
The word "sanctification" is based
on the Latin word "sanctus" NOTE 4 , which means holy. So, sanctification is the process of being made holy. That's
what the "glory to glory" text is all about. In context, Paul is explaining that the Gospel of Grace gives us
greater privileges than the Old Testament Law. He retells the story about Moses coming down from the mountain
after receiving the Ten Commandments. When the people saw him, they were afraid because his face was glowing,
so they got him to cover his face with a veil. Now, says Paul, the Gospel removes the veil so we can see the
glory of God. We don't see the Lord directly, says Paul, but as it were in a mirror.
Mirror
Why a mirror? Think about why we use a
mirror? We use it to check how we look. Is my collar straight? Is my hair properly brushed? Do I have soap or
toothpaste in my chin? But, in Paul's metaphor, it's not our own image in the looking glass. It's Jesus! How
do we shape up to his likeness? And this is where the "glory to glory" comes in. Our first thought may be
to make a negative comparison, like Isaiah did when he saw the vision of the Lord in the temple -
"Woe to me!"
I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes
have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." NOTE 5
But God reassures us, just as he reassured Isaiah, saying,
"your
guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for".
We're being changed from glory (i.e., we're already freed from guilt)
to glory (I.e., we're being improved even more). And this is happening as we contemplate the Lord.
Changing
Get this, because it's what the Christian l
ife us all about. Keep your mind on Christ; learn about him; worship him; desire him; follow him; obey him - and
little by little you will become more like him. He will change you, or rather he will keep on changing you, from
glory to glory.