from glory to glory...

"Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you." Isaiah 60:1

When I close my eyes and ponder the word glory, I see a brilliant light radiating outward from Jesus' face, His arms open wide. I see creation - the swaying of trees, the cool breeze of the invisible wind, the warm sun infiltrating my windows, the fireflies that light up the night sky. I think of my Savior riding on a white horse with a legion of angels behind with swords drawn coming out of the clouds to rescue His people. But not once, not once, have I ever thought of His glory when I look in the mirror.

When Paul wrote/spoke to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 3:7-18) he was well versed in the differences of fading glory versus lasting glory. The ministry of death "chiseled in letters on stones" (10 commandments) is what he called the fading glory...temporary glory. The people couldn't even look at Moses' face because the glory shone so bright - until at last it would fade, until the next time He would be in the Lord's presence. What an awestriking glory that must have been and how desperate the people must have been for it to continue - to know that God's glory was shining upon them and how defeating it must have felt when it faded! The 10 commandments or the "ministry of death" was an awareness of all who lived under it that they were sinners and no one could escape it. It was given in glory but the actual glory was yet to come...in the face of Jesus. When He came, everlasting glory came, but in the most unlikely of places - us. Where before it was not ours to behold - where before we had to shield our eyes from it...we were now able to be the glory, to be the face of Jesus, to shine bright, to know that He loved us so much that His glory was not only reserved for His life and His resurrection - but that it was also reserved for those that believe in Him, that love Him, that choose Him forever. We were given an invitation to the sacrificial love and forgiveness of our sin. We were given an invitation to the most beautiful of banquets - an eternal banquet.

And because we choose Him, we see Him, every time we look in the mirror. He created us in His likeness, He chose us, He loves us just the way we are, he bestowed the glory of His son to live with us, to die for us, to change us from the inside out - to have everlasting glory permeating through our very being! Look in the mirror...do you love what you see? Maybe next time you look in the mirror, you will smile a little bigger knowing that you are looking at His glory in every inch of your face radiating with His joy and compassion. Friends, now is the time to see His glory in you, so that others can see His glory through you and want it for themselves. We are the light of the world and we cannot be hidden.

"For God who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God's glory in the face of Jesus Christ." 2 Corinthians 4:6