Be wise my child and bring joy to my heart; then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt. ~Proverbs 27:11
After Jesus said this, He looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You. For You granted Him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those You have given Him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. I have brought You glory on earth by completing the work You gave Me to do. And now, Father, glorify Me in your presence with the glory I had with You before the world began.” ~John 17:1-5
As God’s child, could you pray this prayer of Jesus’ for yourself, concerning your obedience to the Father? In Jesus, we see a life totally consumed with wanting to please His Father in heaven. Even in His death, He sees the opportunity to bring God glory.
One of our bride’s maids, was a friend of Kathy’s that she had met her freshman year of college. Betsy had Cystic Fibrosis, a horrible condition that affects the digestive enzymes and the mucous lining of the lungs. People with C.F. have trouble digesting their food and the mucous in their lungs needs to be removed twice daily with medicine administered via an aerosol that needs to be breathed in, like a person with asthma.
They also have a special therapy table that tilts in different positions so that another person can help remove the built up mucous with well placed taps, more like thumps around the chest cavity and back. Medicine has greatly improved the process since the late 70s, when Kathy first met Betsy, but it is a time consuming process.
As you would expect, life expectancy was also pretty short. Betsy was no exception. Her Father was a pastor and her mother was a writer, who put Betsy’s and her younger brother, Timmie’s experiences in writing. I’m sure it was therapy for her, but her books also gave a glimpse into what life is like for someone with such a life threatening condition.
Bet’s passed away about a year after our wedding. The last book that Mrs. Baker wrote was called, “Turn It into Glory.” The title was based on a quote that Betsy had heard from her pastor the Sunday before she went into the hospital for the last time. The quote was: “Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing but turn it into glory.” (William Barkley) Betsy wanted so desperately to be like her big brother Jesus and turn her suffering into glory for God. “Be wise my child and bring joy to my heart. Then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt.”
One of the harsh criticisms and complaints that non-Christians make of God is that He is cruel and capricious. Atheists get on their moral high horse and say things like, “There can’t be a God with all this suffering!” Others, who may believe that there is a God make morally “superior” statements like, “If I were God, I would not allow this to happen or that. I’d heal the child or would have prevented the accident.” They pretend they care more than God! They treat God with contempt, so when we can bring Him glory by trustingly enduring, it makes the contempt He receives easier to bear.
When we suffer, there are many ways that we could respond, but I’ve boiled it down to two, for the sake of today’s discussion. On the one hand, we could moan and complain and put our suffering on display in such a way that makes others respond: “O, you poor thing!” This may tempt others to say, “If I were God, I’d fix that, or heal that, or, I wouldn’t allow that to happen.”
On the other hand, we could insist on praising God anyway, and trusting him, which may cause others to ask, “How do you endure it?” That opens doors of opportunity for you to give God glory by your testimony of reliance on His strength, His comfort and His hope. Betsy wanted to glorify her Father God and even in her weakest, most painful moments. she would often ask her mom, “Am I doing it?”
When you are “doing it,” you are no longer just enduring your suffering. You are turning it into glory for your Father. You are acting like a wise child that brings joy to your Father’s heart because you trust Him, that the suffering He is allowing you to endure isn’t meaningless, rather it is for good, His good, which is His glory.
That is the attitude of Jesus, in His prayer on the night in which He was betrayed. “Father, the time has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You… I have brought You glory on earth by completing the work You gave Me to do. And now, Father, glorify Me in your presence with the glory I had with You before the world began.” Jesus doesn’t want our pity. He wants us to see His obedience, and His suffering on the cross, as acts that bring God glory because they showcase His love and demonstrate how far He and the Father are willing to go to redeem us.
Prayer: Father, I am Your child, your son, through Faith in Jesus, and I want my life to glorify You, just like Jesus. Glorify Your son, that Your son may glorify You. For You share Your authority with Your children that we may play a role in leading others to salvation, so they may discover the eternal life You give to all those You have given to Jesus. Let my life be one that helps other people know eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. I want to bring You glory on earth by completing the work You gave Me to do. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: To God Be the Glory
After Jesus said this, He looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You. For You granted Him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those You have given Him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. I have brought You glory on earth by completing the work You gave Me to do. And now, Father, glorify Me in your presence with the glory I had with You before the world began.” ~John 17:1-5
As God’s child, could you pray this prayer of Jesus’ for yourself, concerning your obedience to the Father? In Jesus, we see a life totally consumed with wanting to please His Father in heaven. Even in His death, He sees the opportunity to bring God glory.
One of our bride’s maids, was a friend of Kathy’s that she had met her freshman year of college. Betsy had Cystic Fibrosis, a horrible condition that affects the digestive enzymes and the mucous lining of the lungs. People with C.F. have trouble digesting their food and the mucous in their lungs needs to be removed twice daily with medicine administered via an aerosol that needs to be breathed in, like a person with asthma.
They also have a special therapy table that tilts in different positions so that another person can help remove the built up mucous with well placed taps, more like thumps around the chest cavity and back. Medicine has greatly improved the process since the late 70s, when Kathy first met Betsy, but it is a time consuming process.
As you would expect, life expectancy was also pretty short. Betsy was no exception. Her Father was a pastor and her mother was a writer, who put Betsy’s and her younger brother, Timmie’s experiences in writing. I’m sure it was therapy for her, but her books also gave a glimpse into what life is like for someone with such a life threatening condition.
Bet’s passed away about a year after our wedding. The last book that Mrs. Baker wrote was called, “Turn It into Glory.” The title was based on a quote that Betsy had heard from her pastor the Sunday before she went into the hospital for the last time. The quote was: “Endurance is not just the ability to bear a hard thing but turn it into glory.” (William Barkley) Betsy wanted so desperately to be like her big brother Jesus and turn her suffering into glory for God. “Be wise my child and bring joy to my heart. Then I can answer anyone who treats me with contempt.”
One of the harsh criticisms and complaints that non-Christians make of God is that He is cruel and capricious. Atheists get on their moral high horse and say things like, “There can’t be a God with all this suffering!” Others, who may believe that there is a God make morally “superior” statements like, “If I were God, I would not allow this to happen or that. I’d heal the child or would have prevented the accident.” They pretend they care more than God! They treat God with contempt, so when we can bring Him glory by trustingly enduring, it makes the contempt He receives easier to bear.
When we suffer, there are many ways that we could respond, but I’ve boiled it down to two, for the sake of today’s discussion. On the one hand, we could moan and complain and put our suffering on display in such a way that makes others respond: “O, you poor thing!” This may tempt others to say, “If I were God, I’d fix that, or heal that, or, I wouldn’t allow that to happen.”
On the other hand, we could insist on praising God anyway, and trusting him, which may cause others to ask, “How do you endure it?” That opens doors of opportunity for you to give God glory by your testimony of reliance on His strength, His comfort and His hope. Betsy wanted to glorify her Father God and even in her weakest, most painful moments. she would often ask her mom, “Am I doing it?”
When you are “doing it,” you are no longer just enduring your suffering. You are turning it into glory for your Father. You are acting like a wise child that brings joy to your Father’s heart because you trust Him, that the suffering He is allowing you to endure isn’t meaningless, rather it is for good, His good, which is His glory.
That is the attitude of Jesus, in His prayer on the night in which He was betrayed. “Father, the time has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son may glorify You… I have brought You glory on earth by completing the work You gave Me to do. And now, Father, glorify Me in your presence with the glory I had with You before the world began.” Jesus doesn’t want our pity. He wants us to see His obedience, and His suffering on the cross, as acts that bring God glory because they showcase His love and demonstrate how far He and the Father are willing to go to redeem us.
Prayer: Father, I am Your child, your son, through Faith in Jesus, and I want my life to glorify You, just like Jesus. Glorify Your son, that Your son may glorify You. For You share Your authority with Your children that we may play a role in leading others to salvation, so they may discover the eternal life You give to all those You have given to Jesus. Let my life be one that helps other people know eternal life: that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent. I want to bring You glory on earth by completing the work You gave Me to do. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Song: To God Be the Glory
and Forever He Is Glorified
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