”Now is my soul
troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this
purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came
from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd that
stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has
spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now
is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And
I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” He said
this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. So the crowd answered
him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you
say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” So Jesus
said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you
have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness
does not know where he is going. While you have the light, believe in the
light, that you may become sons of light”. (John 12: 27-36).
Jesus acknowledged that His soul was troubled. Speaking
from His humanity, the Son of Man also acknowledged that when confronted with
the difficulty of doing God’s will, human beings have a choice… “And what
shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? He showed His disciples
how to make the right choice. He declared the primary reason He came into the
world He created was to glorify God… “For this purpose I have come to
this hour. Father, glorify your name”. With these words, spoken in the
shadow of His revelation that glorifying God was going to cost His life (see
v. 23-24), Jesus established the foundational truth that the chief goal for
His disciples should be to live and die for the glory of God.
Today our Teacher, the Holy Spirit asks… What are
we living for? What consumes our mind, our heart, our energy? Where do we spend
the bulk of our time, our money, our gifts and talents? What brings us the most
happiness, satisfaction, fulfillment, or joy? Are we working where God wants us
working, living where God wants us living, and serving where God wants us
serving? One very helpful question that earnest disciples should always be
asking is who’s getting the glory in my life today?
When Jesus chose the path that would glorify God,
His Father answered immediately… “I have glorified it, and I will glorify
it again”. Jesus assured His disciples who seek to glorify God that
they can expect the same answer from heaven… “Whatever you ask in my
name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John
14:13). He taught that when God is glorified, the world is judged and Satan
is cast out… “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of
this world be cast out”. He shared God’s glory with His disciples so
that we might show God’s glory to the world… “The glory that you have
given me I have given to them… so that the world may know that you sent me”
(John 17:22-23). Whenever Christ’s disciples choose the path that will give
glory to God, Jesus is lifted up, the world around us is judged, and Satan is
defeated… “They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away
from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on
that day to be glorified in his saints” (2 Thessalonians 1:9-10).
Sometimes the path that glorifies God is attractive
and full of joy and life… “Let the godly exult in glory; let them sing
for joy on their beds” (Psalm 149:5). Often the choice to glorify God calls
us to imitate and lift up Christ through the death of a vision, a ministry, a relationship,
or a loved one… “We see him who for a little while was made lower than
the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering
of death” (Hebrews 2:9). Jesus promised Peter would glorify God in his
death… “This he said to show by what kind of death he was to glorify God”
(John 21:19). As His disciples we are exhorted to imitate Christ in
glorifying God in everything we say and do… “For if we live, we live to
the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or
whether we die, we are the Lord’s” (Romans 14:8).
As we grow up into Christ He will be lifted
up in every victory and trial as we learn to…
Live
and Die for the Glory of God.
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