VERSE FOR TODAY: The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth: we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son From Father (John 1:14, Revised Standard Version).
HYMN FOR TODAY: "O Master Let Me Walk With Thee"
Who can read today's Scripture and not be reminded of the tenor aria from Handel's great oratorio, The Messiah? "And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all mankind shall see it for the mouth of the Lord has spoken it." What could this prophetic text really mean? The glory of the Lord traveled in Jesus? The same prophet Isaiah says of God's servant: "He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him. . . He was despised and rejected by men" ( Isaiah 53:2,3, New Internationals Version). How was God's glory seen in life if one like Jesus Christ
Could it be that the glory of God has as much to do with love, kindness, and Service as it has to do with power and wealth and those things that humans often associate with glory? Does the Apostles Paul, toiling in Gentile cities to bring the Word of life to lost pagans, reflect God's glory more than Caesar does as he sits on a gilded throne? Does Mother Theresa or some Christian in your church reflect what God sees as glorious more than a tyrant in an exalted political office or a corporate executive who manages million of dollars and thousands of laborers? Could it be that we need a new definition of what really constitute glory?
PRAYER THOUGHTS: Dear heavenly Father, how hard it is to live in this world and not be overcome by it distorted values! Help us to see more clearly the things that really matter and cherish these values more fully Amen.
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