Beholding the Glory of Christ
And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:14
There are times in the experience of every believer when life gets really hard; times when it seems impossible to “be anxious for nothing” so “the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, (can) guard (our) hearts and (our) minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6a, 7). Yet it is in these seasons of sorrow and distress that we must be all the more disciplined in focusing our minds on the perfections of Christ and the glorious benefits that are ours in Him. We must remember that the key to finding joy in sorrow and peace in chaos is to set our minds on “the things of the Spirit. For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace” (Rom. 8:5-6). Indeed, we must “watch over (our) heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life” (Prov. 4:23).
For example, the apostle Paul helps us fight against anxiety by exhorting us to bring our requests to God in “prayer and supplication with thanksgiving” (Phil. 4:6) and to also concentrate on a list of godly virtues: “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you” (Phil. 4:6-9). And the greatest of all the magnificent themes of Scripture is the glory of Christ and His Kingdom promises to all who are united to Him in saving faith.
To be sure, there is no greater privilege in the Christian life than contemplating the glory of the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ—and the Christmas season provides the perfect context to do just that. We would all do well to learn from the angels who “long to look” upon the mystery of the incarnation of Christ (1 Pet. 1:12). We see this illustrated in the position of the cherubim in the holy of holies in the Temple who with outstretched wings stood over the Ark of the Covenant and beheld the mercy seat. Theirs was a posture of reverent awe as they gazed upon that golden lid that separated the violated Law within from the Holy presence that hovered above; that place where the just wrath of God was symbolically propitiated—the mercy seat being a type of Christ in the discharge of His priestly office.
Would that we be like the cherubim and fix our gaze upon Him this Christmas season and behold “His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14). May we be like the apostle Paul and say, “I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ (Phil. 3:8).” The constant beholding of the glory of Christ by faith is the habit of every mature believer and the greatest tonic to soothe an aching soul that longs for heaven. May every servant of God be disciplined to this end and dedicated to helping others do the same.
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