143. Glory given
John 17: 22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them.
God the Father gives glory to the Son, and He gives that glory to His believers. This is an awesome promise: we have received the glory that God gave to Jesus. Can this be true? Do we have the glory of God in us or on us, or what? What we know: God glorified Jesus at the cross, although it looked like shame and suffering; but it was truly glory, in this way: the cross exhibits graphically and violently the Love of God for mankind. Glory is the outshining of the inward character—the inner character of God’s heart is Love, unconditional and undiminished Love. Love is glory.
Because of the innocent, bitter sufferings and death of Jesus Christ God is able to rightly, legally and absolutely forgive all sins to me and all believers. This is glory: we see the essential character of God: it is Love. Because of Christ God gave us His life, His love, His glory, His very self. Because of Christ we have it within us, in our inner spirit. Through us and out of us God is showing others the glory of God, that is, the love of God, as we lay down our lives for the good of others. These acts of kindness and mercy are small and almost unnoticeable deeds, but in the “real” world these are big deals. This is the glory we have been given.
“Christ in you, the hope of glory” is the key to what has been given to us. “When Christ appears we will appear with him in glory.” The glory of God is already in us and with us, but it is unseen to human eyes. One Day, when Christ appears, that glory in us will appear for all to see clearly with their new, resurrected human eyes. Then everyone will see what has really been within us all along. The answer to the question posed above: Yes, we do have the glory of God in us. But because we don’t see it and it doesn’t look like glory we must be told this is true by Jesus’ own promise. It can’t be seen, but it can be believed. You and I are full of glory, and one day all will see it. For now, it looks like unselfish love, at least once in a while. We believe it because we have this promise.