Month: November 2023

Our Shepherd King Secures His Scattered Flock

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(Ezekiel 34: 11-16, 23-24)

“Just do it for me, please.” Dad was patiently showing his little boy how to use a hammer to pound a nail so he could complete a small project he had been working on. His son had practiced and practiced, but he was struggling to pound the nail without bending it. The pieces of scrap wood nearby pierced with disjointed nails protruding awkwardly made it quite evident that he hadn’t gotten the hang of it yet. Frustrated and discouraged, he was ready to give up and pleaded for his dad to just pound in the nails for him so he could finish his project. “Please, Dad, just do it for me.”

It’s not just the little boy learning to pound a nail in straight who either has the desire or the need for someone else to do something for him. Pressed for time and leaving precious little margin in our over scheduled lives, we often find it more convenient just to pay someone else to do it for us. We don’t have time to whip up a dish before the get-together, so we stop at the store and pick something up. We don’t have the patience to do the research needed for the repair job so we call a guy to do it for us. No matter the product or service, you can find just about anyone to do it for you if you don’t have the time, patience, or ability to do it yourself. 

In one area of life, however, we couldn’t manage the problem ourselves even if we wanted to – someone else had to do it for us. Forgiveness and our salvation required someone else to do it for us. Even with all the effort, practice, or money in the world, we could not secure these on our own. Our best efforts at holiness still resemble the pile of scrap wood showcasing nothing but bent and broken nails. To a holy God who set the bar of expectation at the highest level – perfection – even “good” people can do nothing but dislodge the high jump bar with every single attempt. Nike’s encouragement to “Just do it” won’t cut it for our salvation; instead, we need to look elsewhere and plead, “Just do it for me, please.”

On the final Sunday of the Church year, observed as Christ the King Sunday, we celebrate that we have just the Savior who stepped in to do it for us. As we do so, with hearts still beating with the gratitude of Thanksgiving, we marvel our Lord’s determination to gather and shepherd his flock. There is no reluctance whatsoever on his part; only resilience. There is no unwilling resentment; only unyielding resolve. We have complete confidence that Our Shepherd King Secures His Scattered Flock. 

At the time of the prophet Ezekiel’s service, God’s people were in captivity in Babylon. Why? Because the leaders God had put in place to take care of his people had done a miserable job. They failed to rebuke and correct God’s people. They themselves failed to heed any rebuke and correction they received from God’s prophets. They failed to lead by example – many kings were even unbelieving idolaters! The leaders God had placed over his people to shepherd his flock had failed. Spectacularly. Their Babylonian exile served as a daily reminder. 

I wish I could point out how much we’ve learned from that lesson of Israel’s captivity. But I can’t. It’s every bit as likely that 2,500 years later, those tasked with leading God’s people in his Church are just as capable of doing just as miserable a job – if not ever more abysmal – than those sorry shepherds of Israel’s day.

Sadly, the church today is a lot like politics – often a matter of having to choose the lesser of two evils. When a Christian is satisfied with a pastor or church that is solid on most of what the Bible teaches (but not all of it!), that ought to be a red flag. That ought to be an indicator to run away and run away fast. Why, after all, should God’s people have to settle for any approach or teaching that compromises God’s Word? Why can’t we expect a church and/or pastor to be faithful to all of it? Why can’t we expect that of our shepherds today? Indeed, we should!

Thankfully, God wasn’t content to leave the salvation of souls in the hands of heterodox leaders. No, God was the originator of the “if you want something done, do it yourself” approach. That was what he was promising his people through Ezekiel.  

Even though his people had turned away from him, God was not one to cross his arms and turn his face away from his wayward people.  No, he’s one to do something about it. And the solution he promised didn’t involve enlisting the help of someone else; he was his own solution. He promised to take it upon himself to come to the rescue of his people. God’s heart for mankind, the crown of his creation, beats with such unparalleled passion that he couldn’t possibly risk leaving the outcome in anyone else’s hands but his own. Only in taking care of the matter himself could he guarantee success. Only in taking complete ownership of the responsibility of the salvation of souls could man’s eternity be secured. 

Ezekiel prophesied as much. “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep’” (Ezekiel 34:11-12a). Appreciate how the Lord speaks here! He says “I myself.” The Lord himself doing a thing makes a difference.

It’s one thing for a friend with expertise in a certain area to offer advice or share some videos explaining how to tackle a repair or DIY project. You’d certainly be appreciative of such an offer. But you know what you’d appreciate even more? If he offered to come by tomorrow and just fix it for you! He knows what needs to be done and he knows how to do it, so rather than insert some middle man or risk you not getting it right, he comes and personally takes care of it for you.

Your Shepherd-King himself claims the responsibility of searching for his scattered sheep and shepherding them as they are brought into his flock. After all, remember that Jesus is not the hired hand, but the Good Shepherd himself (cf. John 10). 

The Lord also referenced the intimate, personal nature of his relationship with us: “I will look after my sheep.” “My” sheep he calls us! We are his! We belong to him, and he doesn’t hesitate to claim it! Embrace that identify before you go seeking it anywhere else only to be disappointed. You are his sheep. You belong to him. Rest in the safe security of that identity. 

Ezekiel then spelled out exactly how God would carry out that intimate, personal relationship with those he desired to save. “I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the Lord have spoken” (vs. 23-24). At the time Ezekiel was prophesying, David’s story had already played out. His life, his rule over Israel, and his death were already part of the history books. So who was Ezekiel speaking of here when referencing David?

When you hear the echoes of “Hosanna to the Son of David!” shouted as Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the lightbulb goes on. They sang their hosannas to “the Son of David” because they were acknowledging Jesus to be the fulfillment of the greater David. This offspring of David would usher in a reign that would never come to an end. Yes, Jesus is the promised David, God dressed up in humanity so that he himself could establish and maintain the personal, intimate relationship with his own sheep by dwelling among them.

While we wait for that Son of David, Jesus, to return on the Last Day, he still secures his scattered flock – through his Church. The church I serve at has as its tagline, “Seeking the Lost and Serving the Found.” By embracing that mission, we are acknowledging that our Shepherd-King carries out his work through us. We are called to gather the sheep outside the pen into the sheep pen. We are called to gather those wandering away from the Shepherd and his Church, either literally as they disengage or become uninvolved with the life of the church. But we are also called to gather those wandering away spiritually, whether neglecting the Bible and sacraments or being swayed by false teachers. Ether way, Jesus enlists our gifts to aid him in carrying out this important work. 

How do we know it’s important? Because we know the price tag he already placed on each soul that he has redeemed. Our King didn’t conquer with an elite army. Our King didn’t conquer with a spectacular special weapon. Instead, our King conquered by offering the perfect peace offering to guarantee victory: himself.

Our sacrificial King won the battle not by littering the battlefield with the dead bodies of his enemies, but by offering up his own dead body to pay the price for our sin. The Bible describes Jesus’ sacrifice this way: “’He himself bore our sins’ in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by his wounds you have been healed.’ For ‘you were like sheep going astray,’ but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls’” (1 Peter 2:24-25).

The sacrifice made by our Shepherd and Overseer provides the backbone for every other promise that God has made to us, including each of those laid out in Ezekiel’s words. If Jesus has firmly secured our salvation, there is no reason to doubt all other promises that flow from that mighty act of sacrifice.

Our Shepherd-King will search for and look after his sheep. He will rescue them and gather them together from all over the earth. He will tend them. He will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak. He will see justice carried out. He will do all of these things, just as he promised.

“Just do it for me, please,” the little boy pleads to his father. He obliges because he loves his son.

“Just do it for us, Lord,” we beg of the Father. He obliges because he loves his sons and daughters. He established his kingdom by shedding his own blood, and he continues to rule over and sustain his kingdom by that same blood, offered in the sacrament and the food of his Word to feed his sheep. So as we close out another church year and start a new one with the season of Advent, let us rejoice in our King who did it himself so that he could secure his scattered sheep for himself and for eternity.

A Time for Faithful Service

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(Matthew 25:14-30)

What do you think of the master in the parable? What impression of him are you left with after reading or hearing Jesus’ story? Is he the kind of guy you respect, the kind you could see yourself wanting to spend time with, perhaps getting to know him a bit over a cup of coffee? Or does he rub you the wrong way in how he comes across in the parable? Is he a little too uptight and overly focused on the financials? Do you see him being concerned more about profit than he is about people?

Since the master in the parable represents the Lord, let’s just cut right to the chase and be a little more direct: what do you think about God? What is your view of him? How do you personally see God? When you pray to him, what is the image in your mind of God as you are speaking to him? When you call to mind the promises he speaks to you, what does he look like to you as you are hearing him speak those promises to you? What feelings do thoughts of God evoke in you? How do you describe what he means to you when you’re talking about him with others?

What you make of the Master matters. Why? Because what you make of the Master determines your service to him.

Think about your current job and all of the past jobs you’ve ever held. Didn’t the way you felt about your manager or boss impact your work? If you thought the world of your boss, then you also didn’t think twice about making sure you always did your best and even went above and beyond. But if you couldn’t stand your boss, you were less concerned about wowing anyone with your work and just cared about completing the bare minimum required to keep him off your back. The way we feel about our boss has bearing on the work we do. 

What you make of the Master matters. How you see God impacts how you serve him. If you view him as the third servant did, then what you do with the talents he entrusted to you will be tainted. Fear or guilt will either lead to begrudging toil or burying talents. Either way, it won’t produce the kind of return that God the Giver desires.

So then, how do you view God? Is it possible that you… resent him? Do you hold any sense of spite toward God because you reason that he finds some twisted joy in punishing wrong-doers? If so, where might that perception possibly come from? Might it be driven by our own guilty conscience? Could such a view of God stem from our awareness of our own shameful sins, which at times we carry out so casually? Do we attempt to make God the bad guy for punishing the sins we want to commit, imagining we can somehow shift the blame onto him? Is that how you see him?

Do you perhaps view God as the hard Master who demands far too much of you? Does he place impossible expectations on you? Do you think of him as distant and far off, like the man in the parable going on the journey? Is he out of touch? Do you suppose he cares only about results while being disinterested in you personally? 

Friend, if any of those apply, while I don’t know where those perceptions ever came from in the first place, I do know this: you’ve got the wrong guy. Such views of God don’t line up with how God is portrayed in Scripture. Think about it – would the master really have entrusted his personal property to his servants if he did not care about them, trust them, and yes, even love them? After all, he wasn’t passing along his personal property to strangers, but to his own servants.

Know this about the God who desires grace to be his calling card: his delight in you isn’t dependent upon your faithful service to him, but rather his faithful service to you. He called you to faith. He keeps you in faith. His forgiveness – and all the wealth of spiritual blessings that accompany it – are not extended to you on the basis of how faithfully you manage what he gives you; his forgiveness is extended to you on the basis of how faithfully his Son served by obediently carrying out everything necessary for your salvation. His faithfulness was flawless. That is your Master.

But your Master is even more! He’s also the Suffering Servant. Jesus not only explained the wicked servant’s sentence; he also experienced it. “And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (v.30). Jesus was the one who was thrown into the darkness of hell. Jesus was the one who experienced the weeping and gnashing of teeth in the place of eternal separation from his Father. Though his obedient service was flawlessly faithful, he suffered the punishment of the wicked, lazy servant. He suffered our punishment. The Master and Suffering Servant are one and the same – our Substitute and Savior.

Two of the three servants clearly viewed him that right way. We can tell by the quality of their service to him. They set out to put to work what the Master had entrusted to them and their efforts yielded a very nice return – who wouldn’t take a 100% return on any investment? They had faithfully utilized what had been given them, and the Master was delighted, showering them not only with praise, but also entrusting them with greater responsibility. “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’” (v.23). 

Then there was the third servant. He chose to manage what had been given to him differently. Rather than put it to work, he was concerned about losing it and facing his Master’s wrath. 

He was playing not to lose. You know when that expression is typically used of a team in any sporting event? It’s most often directed at a team that either is losing or has just lost, because rather than focusing on putting in the work to score more points to either take the lead or keep the lead, they were more focused only on keeping the other team from scoring. It rarely works out well for the team that finds itself playing not to lose. 

It didn’t work out well for the third servant, either. And the Master wasn’t buying his excuses. He didn’t hold back in calling him out bluntly. “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest’” (v.26-27). So while the servant supposed his misguided view of the Master would let him off the hook, it did the very opposite. His Master pointed out that if that truly was how he saw him, then he had even less reason to bury his talent and more reason to put the talent to work in an effort to avoid the Master’s wrath!

As we consider this parable in this time in between Jesus’ first and second coming, it is obvious to us that Jesus would have us live not like the third servant, but like the first two servants. So what does the faithful servant look like today?

Assuming we long to please the Master as the faithful servants did, what is required of us? Sometimes this parable has been used to highlight that God gifts us differently. We notice that he didn’t give the same talents to each of the servants. This is true. We do have different gifts and abilities from God. Some can organize and coordinate. Others have musical gifts. Some build and fix with their hands, some find joy in serving and/or cleaning up. The list goes on and the point is stressed that whichever unique gifts we have been given, we are to put them to use faithfully and not bury them. This application definitely has its place as we understand how God has uniquely gifted us.

But it isn’t the only way to consider the faithful service God calls us to carry out. It might also be helpful for us to think of the talents/bags of gold in terms of the responsibilities we have in our lives. Since we have numerous responsibilities across the board in our lives, whatever those responsibilities may be, God expects us to be faithful in carrying them out.

You have a job – do it well with all the strength and ability God provides. You have a house and a vehicle – take good care of them it and maintain them well. You have volunteered your time for this or that cause – follow through with your commitments and see them to completion. You have a spouse to love and serve – do so sacrificially. You are single – use it to your advantage to serve the Lord in that season of life. You have children – raise them to be grace-filled, Jesus-loving Christians who embrace the privilege of serving in Christ’s kingdom. You have neighbors – befriend and help them whenever possible. And we all share responsibilities to the poor, the hungry, the homeless, those treated unjustly, and so on. Some of us have more responsibilities than others, just as the servants had different amounts of talents. Whatever those responsibilities are, faithful service means we don’t avoid them, we don’t wait for others to carry them out for us, we don’t neglect them, and we don’t carry them out half-heartedly. 

No, because we know the Master, and what we make of the Master matters. It makes our heart sing to do a job well for him. It delights us to delight him. It fills us with joy to know that every single responsibility we have is an opportunity for us to worship him with our whole lives, to give him our best as he did for us. We think so highly of the Master who thought so highly of us as to give us the greatest gift possible in Jesus. 

What a wonder that our Master should respond to our faithfulness as he does, and that we are both the source of his happiness as well as the ones with whom he wishes to share his happiness. Your faithful service makes the Master happy. Doesn’t it make you happy to know that? Go then and put smiles on God’s face with your faithful service. 

A Time for Watchfulness

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(Matthew 25:1-13)

Generally speaking, we typically fall into one of two categories when it comes to packing: the minimalist light packer who prides herself in packing only the bare minimum and nothing that would take up unnecessary space, and the packer who brings essentially everything he owns, just in case he might need it. They’re easy to spot in the airport, since one has either a backpack or small carry-on, while the other is stumbling along, looking as if he’s carrying enough luggage for a small family. 

Regardless of which of those two types of traveler you are, no one likes feeling unprepared. Whether we’re light or heavy packers, we still feel prepared as long as we have everything we think we’ll end up needing.

What we can’t anticipate, however, is whether or not everything will go according to plan. Delayed or cancelled flights, missed layovers, lost luggage, reservation issues with car rentals or accommodations – there’s a lot that can go wrong!

The women in Jesus’ parable who were waiting for the bridegroom found that out, too. They undoubtedly thought they were prepared… until the bridegroom took longer than expected in arriving. Then, five of the women without extra oil found out how unprepared they were. On the other hand, five of the ten had anticipated that might be the case, since they brought extra oil for their lamps for just such an occasion. They were actually prepared. They were ready. As a result, they got to experience the wedding banquet with the bridegroom once he arrived.

The story didn’t end so well for the five who ran out of oil. They were not prepared. They were not ready. So, when the time came to accompany the bridegroom to the banquet, they were in the dark. They were out of oil. Then, by the time they caught up after having to find oil to fill up their lamps, it was too late. The door to the wedding banquet had already been shut and guests were no longer being admitted. They unexpectedly found themselves shut out of the party. 

Doesn’t this parable sound like the kind of warning that would be directed more toward those who are at home sleeping in on a Sunday morning, or out and about, or prioritizing other things in life before worship? Does this parable really have anything to say to those who are active in their Christian faith and engaged in their churches?

Yes it does. First, heed Jesus’ warning for watchfulness in your own heart. Second, sound the warning for others before it’s too late. 

If you are active in your faith right now, how far back do you have to go to a time when you weren’t? Each of us has so many different stories about how we got to where we are today in our faith and relationship with Jesus. Some of us have always only known and believed in Jesus. We were brought up in believing homes with Jesus-loving parents – possibly even pastors or teachers in the church – who made sure that Sunday mornings were spent in church hearing about God’s love for us in Jesus, and it’s stuck with us every day since. 

But those stories among us are more likely the exception than the rule. More of us probably have stories that look more like the tangled up ball of Christmas lights we’re looking forward to unraveling after Thanksgiving. Our stories are a little messier, perhaps a little bit of religion here and some wandering there and a whole lot of back and forth for many years. Some who are newer to life with Jesus all together and know a whole lot more mess in their life and are still fresh in their discovery of how sweet Jesus makes life.

So realize by looking back on your life that just because you’re where you are now is no guarantee of where you’ll be in the future if you’re not continuing to keep watch.

As the weather cools just a bit and mornings and evenings make it nice to get comfortable and cozy, don’t ever fall into the trap of getting comfortable with your faith. As Jesus’ parable showed, it can lead to spiritual drowsiness and leave you unprepared.

Yes, you might believe you’re ready, but so did the five virgins waiting for the bridegroom. They were in the right place, but they still weren’t prepared. You can be in the right place, even doing the right things, but still not be prepared for Jesus’ return.

The Pharisees of Jesus’ day are a great example of this. They were in the right place, doing the right things, but for the wrong reason. They weren’t prepared. Their hearts were hollow. They weren’t filled with faith. Rather than living thankfully out of gratitude for the forgiveness and salvation Jesus freely gives, their lives were auditions, lived in expectation that their performances would be more than adequate to cast them in at least some role in heaven. Their lives were pretend, not lived in genuine faith. 

Similarly, a person can worship, can serve, can even give, and all of it can be done in unbelief. There’s certain intrinsic value in each of those things, I suppose. They carry some benefit, depending on what a person is looking for. But if not done in faith, with the desire to grow in that faith, then it is all for naught. It isn’t the pleasing fruit of faith that God desires and grows, but is instead like the plastic fruit bowl displayed on the dining room tables of a furniture showroom.  

One of the applications we can draw from Jesus’ parable is the warning that these kinds of dangers are more likely to happen gradually than they are suddenly. In verse five, Jesus made the point, “The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.” Do not suppose, then, that these dangers are only sudden and immediate. They come over time as we let our guard down.

In our congregation, we’ve been a little more intentional about paying attention to those who have been missing out on worship for three+ months, and there are some consistent findings. Guess who’s most likely to be absent from worship for three months? Those who have missed for two months. Guess who’s most likely to miss worship for two months? Those who have missed worship for one month. Neglecting worship becomes so much easier when we allow it to become a pattern.

So don’t. Be in God’s house every week. Be here several times a month. Don’t let one Sunday turn to two, and then three, and low and behold, four months later you haven’t been to church. That’s not being watchful. That’s not being ready. That’s begging to find yourself out of oil when the bridegroom comes. 

While Jesus’ parable deals with those who had some sense and some expectation of the bridegroom’s arrival, how much more urgent is the warning to those not anticipating the bridegroom’s arrival, let alone aware of the bridegroom or the banquet at all in the first place? How many more either through ignorance or indifference have no “save the date” card for Jesus’ return stuck to their fridge? How many don’t know anything at all or know so very little about Jesus’ first coming that they may not have even a slight clue about his second, when he returns on the last day?

Yes, there is surely a place for those gathered in local congregations to look out for each other and make sure they don’t run out of oil before the end, but what of all those who have no lamps and no oil at all? Who will warn them to be ready, to be watching, to be prepared? While we may be wide awake as to our own salvation, do we need a wake-up call to the urgency of warning the lost and the lukewarm all around us? Are we OK being surrounded but the spiritual dead and condemned to hell or can we all detach from our devices for a moment here and there and have a conversation about Christ? Can we alert others to the impending arrival of the bridegroom?

Remember, you have been forgiven, redeemed, and saved for a purpose, and that purpose is not limited to just the joy of the banquet in heaven; that purpose also includes the joy of bringing more wedding guests along with you.

You have been forgiven so that you can forgive others.

You have been redeemed so that you can pronounce redemption to others.

You have been saved so you can point others to their Savior.

By God’s grace, your lamp has been filled with oil; tell others where to fill up their lamps with oil so that they, too, are ready. 

We’re ready for the bridegroom when we continue to make sure our lamps are filled with oil. We don’t ever get to the point of “it’s good enough” with our faith, but we want a growing faith, always filling the lamp with more oil.

Suppose an absurdly wealthy individual who was feeling particularly generous came to you and wanted to write you a check. You only had to name the amount and he would write the check out to you. However, after you gave him the first amount, he said, “more.” So you gave him a bigger number. Again he said “more.” You then gave him a number with a whole bunch of zeros after it. Still he said “more.” How long do you think this would go on before you’d get sick of him saying “more” each time? I don’t know about you, but I would welcome the opportunity to find out!

May we have the same attitude regarding our faith in Jesus. “More.” Never “good enough” or “sufficient,” but always “more.” Trust me, your lamps can hold a lot more oil, so fill them up with more Jesus, more faith. Don’t hold back in asking God for more – he’ll give it eagerly! What Jesus secured for you and me and everyone else with his perfect life of obedience and his death on the cross is more than we could ever exhaust – but let’s at least try to find out!

Fill your lamp with faith. Then fill it up with more, and you’ll be ready. You’ll be watchful. You’ll be like a giddy child, prepared to go with your Savior to the place he has prepared for us when he comes on that Last Day.

A Time to Focus on Future Glory

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(Revelation 7:9-17)

We often need the reminder to make sure we’re living in the present. That reminder can keep us from remaining stuck in the past as we get caught up ruminating on regrets or unfinished business. Such a reminder can also keep us from an unhealthy fixation on the future life we have planned for ourselves that always seems to be just out of reach, always waiting for this to happen or that to fall into place. Those reminders are good for us so that we don’t overlook the blessing of the present, the here and now, the 24 hours that we have on this day, in this place, in this station of life where we find ourselves currently – not dwelling on who or where we were in the past and not pining for who or where we’d liked to be in the future. 

Yet, as we live in this time in between Christ’s first and second coming, we can just as easily get stuck with tunnel vision, zeroing in only on the here and now and losing sight of the “not yet” – the future that God holds out to those who are his. There are three dangers of forgetting the future and living only in the present.

First, focusing only on the present can find us unprepared and not ready for Jesus’ return. Jesus even warned against waiting until the last minute because of such an attachment to the here and now in a number of his parables, such as the bridesmaids waiting for the groom who run out of oil because they aren’t prepared (cf. Mt. 25). We want to be ready for that time.

Jesus’ warning to Christians is that it is extremely dangerous to leave our faith always on the “perennial to-do list, ” as if our good intentions to getting around to it after we finish everything else that we’ve prioritized ahead of it. We dare not let faith be our last concern in this life only to find out after it’s too late that faith is the only concern that matters for the next life, for eternal life. It will simply be too late to discover that reality after the fact. 

A second danger that arises when we perceive heaven or Jesus’ return to be so far off into the future: we leave ourselves susceptible to being overcome by a feeling of hopelessness. The discouragement, the disappointment, and the disillusionment of the daily here and now can capsize us like a tiny fishing boat being tossed about in the middle of a hurricane. We become convinced that there is no end in sight regarding our financial plight. A toxic relationship will never become healthy. My job will never be fulfilling. The chronic pain or sickness is not going to improve. I can’t fix the struggles I’m having with my child. Without reminders about the eternal hope our future holds, each of these challenges can feel like another fifty-foot wave smacking and swamping us over and over again until we finally sink. It’s just a matter of time. 

The third danger that comes when we fail to focus on our future glory may be the most dangerous: instead of holding out for the future glory that is ours in Christ Jesus, we seek out glory in the here and now. For that is what the fall into sin has made us: glory-seekers.

Satan had convinced Adam & Even not to remain content with who God had made them to be in the world God had made for them. They believed there was a level of glory that God was hiding from them, keeping them from attaining a status more in line with his. The fruit was the key. They were deceived into believing it promised them the glory they were seeking. So, unsatisfied with the glory they already had by being created in God’s perfect image, they longed for a greater glory. And the result? The glory they had was smashed to pieces, obliterated into nothingness, gone, along with the gloriously perfect world God had given them. 

We daily pick up where our first parents left off, glory-seeking as if on a treasure hunt that promises untold riches and wealth if we can just secure the glory we seek. “But glory is the last thing I am interested in,” you say. “I dread being the center of attention or being recognized. I would much rather defer to someone else more interested in such things. Glory does not interest me.” So you say.

How then do you justify your workaholism? The paycheck that affords you a new _______, or the successful title, promotion, or recognition, or simply the praise others heap on you for being a hard worker – what is that if not all ultimately about serving your own glory? What of your child’s athletic, academic, or extracurricular achievements, diploma from a prestigious university, or high-paying career? Are those things so often the topic of your conversations for their own sake, or are you simply glory-seeking through your kids? Are you early or on-time for everything because you’re so considerate or respectful of other people’s time, or do you glory in that reputation? On the flip side, are you habitually running late for everything because of one excuse or another, or is because self-glory has you convinced that your time is more valuable and important than everyone else’s? 

If we aren’t interested in glory seeking and self-glory, why then, is it so hard to pay another a compliment? Because it draws attention away from us (or we’re just naturally better at pointing out others’ flaws). Why are we compelled to identify the tiniest shortcoming in a project or job done by someone else? Because we could have done it better. Why is it so hard to apologize or admit that we were wrong? Because our glory, our reputation, our pride, would be damaged. Do we defer recognition because we’re genuinely humble, or because our glory is in wanting to be known and recognized for our humility?     

It is the deceptive nature of this third danger of neglecting to focus on our future glory that makes it such a threat. We actually begin to believe, just as Adam and Eve did, that we can search out and secure some sort of glory this world might offer. But it is nothing more than a mirage.

And if we spend our here and now pursuing a mirage, then the Holy Spirit is being robbed of the opportunities to feed and strengthen our faith. The stronger our faith, the more we yearn to receive a true and lasting glory, a glory that is no mirage, but is a reality secured for us through the Son of God, Jesus Christ. He is our glory, and so it is no surprise to see him at the center of the vision shared with us through the eyes and pen of John in Revelation. Do you wish to see what glory looks like? Look no further than the verses from Revelation 7.

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying: “Amen! Praise and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God for ever and ever. Amen!” (vss. 9-12).

Now imagine that right in the middle of this glorious scene, this happens: an individual objects to all of the glory being directed at the Lamb and demands that he, too, be recognized for certain highlights in his own life. Absurd!

But as absurd as that is, is it any more ridiculous than any attempt at glory-seeking right here and now? Why should the here and now on earth be any different than the not yet of heaven? Why should be think ourselves worthy of any glory whatsoever when the only mark we hit consistently in our lives is that of unholiness and imperfection? 

What makes this glory depicted in Revelation so remarkable is that it even overshadows and covers our every foolish attempt at seeking self-glory in the here and now. Notice what everyone is wearing: “Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?” I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (vss. 13-14).

A white robe. A white robe made pure and clean by the blood of the Lamb. The blood shed on the cross, the blood given to you in the Sacrament – that blood alone cleanses and purifies you. It washed away your sinful glory-seeking and all other pride along with it. That is the only reason anyone is able to stand in the presence of the Lamb and worship him, and that is the reason this whole scene is punctuated with praise and adoration in the first place – because of what the Lamb has done for all people, including you and me. 

And friends, we wear that robe not just in heaven, but also here and now, through faith in Jesus. We are righteous right now. We are holy right now. We, to a degree, are covered in this glory right now.

Why should we ever foolishly seek an inferior glory that the world holds out to us when we have the superior glory of Jesus Christ to claim as ours not just in the future, but in the present? Here and now. When we are robed in that glory, we get it. We get that serving Jesus is a joy, not a burden. That’s why we long for this scene: “Therefore, ‘they are before the throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence’” (v.15).

Yet even now we have the joy of serving him day and night with our whole lives. While we have to wait for the complete joy and bliss of the full glory that waits for us in heaven, we don’t have to wait until then to experience the joy of serving him and others here and now!

And to spur us on toward perseverance and endurance while we serve here, we take to heart the picture of serving God eternally in a world without the worries or woes that plague us here and now.  “‘Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst. The sun will not beat down on them,’ nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’ ‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes’” (vss. 16-17). 

Yes, we live in the time in between, but that doesn’t mean we live unaware of what waits for us. Quite the opposite. It is precisely because we know what waits for us that we are encouraged. That is why we continue to focus on a future glory that is ours, spurred on even by a foretaste of that glory in the present, as we are God’s glory-bearers here and now.