2nd September 2024
Glory that lasts
And if what was transitory came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!
2 Corinthians 3:11 (NIV)
We all want things to last – that toaster, our marriage, our youthful figure, but alas, time makes a dent in it all. Yet our souls do not seem to age, just this tent we live in (as Paul called our bodies). We try to patch up the holes, but there is only so much we can do, the glory of it is transitory, it fades just as did the glow on the face of Moses after being in the presence of God. God and his love are so much greater than this earthly life. This life is only the beginning of what God has planned for us; better things will last because God will be present in them.
From the very beginning, God was present in all his glory, a glory that does not fade but lasts because it is eternal. God, in his love for us, wants to share this glory of his with us. It is hard to fathom such love, but there it is in all its realness. Who are we to share in such love, such glory? We are called his children, his friends. We have done everything wrong, and yet God reaches out his hands, calls us with his gentle voice, and says with his actions: ‘I love you, and I have come to help you.’
The header verse speaks of God’s covenant with humanity. What this covenant is, is a covenant of love. His goal is to bring us into his family, but first, we need healing and rebirth. We learn by experience. We grow and see things from a different perspective as God enables us with his perspective. I am learning to value God’s love more each day. What God created in us is glorious, but what he has planned for us is even more glorious, and permanent.
The Bible weaves the story from start to finish of God’s plan and purpose for human beings. How he desires to pour out his love on us, and this he has done and will continue to do. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “Plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11). Though these words were written to the exiles of Israel, God speaks these words to us as well. Though we may have forgotten God, as Israel had done, though we may have rejected him at some point in our lives, if we turn back to God and seek him, we will find him (vv.12-14).
The old covenant was just transitory, and God established a new glorious and permanent covenant written in blood, the blood of Jesus. People and things come and go in our lives, but the love of God is lasting and permanent. How wonderful it is that we may rely on this. Psalm 91:1-2 tells us: “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” We can trust in God, whose love never fades, whose mercy is eternal, whose glory will last, and who has our best interests in mind.
Prayer
Glorious God we run to your loving arms. The things of this world are in constant change, but we can rely on you and your love. We thank you, God for your steadfastness, for your giving nature. We place ourselves into your care, for you will never leave us abandoned, but will always be by our side. We praise your name! In Jesus’s name, Amen.
Study by Anne Gillam
About the writer:
Anne Gillam is a retired Pastor in Grace Communion International, Klamath Falls, Oregon, USA.
Local congregation:
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