Veroni's Views

Let me say at the outset that the glory of the Lord is indescribable.  It is revealed in countless ways, through creation, salvation history, and too many ways to be mentioned here.  God’s glory will be manifested fully in the new heavens and the new earth.  However, I believe God wants to reveal his glory through each of us.  How that happens, is the subject of today’s blog.

Some would say it is through the working of spectacular miracles.  And yes, that is one of the ways, but to be honest, God does not do mighty miracles through each of us, at least not frequently.  How can He then reveal his glory through us?

Paul writes in Romans 5 that we “boast in the hope of the glory of God”) verse 2.  He says that one of the consequences of suffering in the life of the believer is that we have hope (verse 4).  This hope, he says, does not put us to shame” (verse 5).  In light of verse 2, the hope we have is that we will see the glory of God.  If that hope does not cause us to be ashamed means that we have not been disillusioned in our hope that we will see the glory of God.  Then comes one of the most profound statements in the Bible.  

We have not been disappointed on account of the hope of seeing God’s glory, because we are able to see it in our everyday lives: “Hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us” (Romans 5.5).

The clearest revelation of the glory of God is the love that God pours forth into our hearts.  Maybe the most spectacular miracle is the revelation of God’s love through his people.  It transcends every boundary, be it culture, language, ethnicity, worldview, or any other difference.  It has confounded even enemies of the Gospel when believers under persecution have cried out about their enemies “Lord, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”  To understand its prominence in the sight of God, we only have to remember that it was the love of God that drove Him to sacrifice his only Son, and that the Son declared that the greatest command of all is that we should love God and our neighbour.

I am sure that you experience the love of God in your walk with Him.  I am equally sure that you have experienced his love for others, particularly in those moments when you have felt close to God.

You may ask, “But how can I have more of love?”  The answer lies in the fact that love is part of the fruit of the Spirit, that is, what the Holy Spirit brings about in us.  That in itself shows how important love is in God’s Kingdom.  He has poured out his love in us and wants to continue doing it in ever-increasing amounts.  It is only for you and me to realize how important it is, realize that He has already given us his love, and to allow Him to increase it in our own lives.

Let’s make it more personal.  Paul calls Jesus the “hope of glory” and speaks of the mystery, that “Christ is in you” (Colossians 1.27).  You see, he IS love.