SHOW: THE GLORY

THE PRAYER      

• Find a quiet space.      
• Breathe deeply and recognise God with you in this moment.      
• When you are ready, speak to God about this time together.      
• After you've finished praying, go through the following passage a few times slowly and thoughtfully (preferably out loud).   
• Allow God to meet you in these words.

God, teach me lessons for living so I can stay the course. Give me insight so I can do what you tell me- my whole life one long, obedient response. Guide me down the road of your commandments; I love traveling this freeway! Give me a bent for your words of wisdom, and not for piling up loot. Divert my eyes from toys and trinkets, invigorate me on the pilgrim way. Psalm 119: 33-37 (MSG)

THE FIRST READING

Read this passage slowly (preferably out loud) as you allow God to meet you in these words. Pay attention to anything God might be saying as you do.

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:13-16 (ESV)

RESPONSE

Take some time to respond (write down, draw, pray, etc.) to God’s prompting in the first reading of the passage. What is he highlighting and saying to you through this?

THE SECOND READING

Read the passage again (slowly and preferably out loud) through the “lens” of what The Spirit highlighted in the first reading. Listen for anything else the Spirit might be saying.

You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:13-16 (ESV)

THE REFLECTION

“What does the moon do? She generates no light. Apart from the Sun, the Moon is nothing more than a pitch-black, pockmarked rock. But properly positioned the moon beams. Let her do what she was made to do and a clod of dirt becomes a source of inspiration. The moon reflects the greater light, and she is happy to do so! You never hear the Moon complaining. She makes no waves about making waves. Let the cow jump over her or astronauts step on her, she never objects. Even though sunning is accepted while mooning is the butt of bad jokes, you won’t hear ol’ Cheeseface grumble. The Moon is at peace in her place. And because she is, soft light touches a dark earth.” (Max Lucado, It’s Not About Me)

I read these words for the first time as a young man, on a bus, driving down the west coast of Australia on my first international mission trip. The weight of the idea struck me immediately. With fire in my gut, I made a decision right then and there. I would be the moon. My life would be about Jesus. In that moment I declared with John the Baptist that “He must become greater, I must become less." I remember my scrunched-up eyes and clenched fists as I passionately prayed in my seat.

What I didn’t realise then was how deep that ancient temptation to “be like God” burned within me. The desire for life to be about me was then and is now gravitational in its force. Since then, I have constantly found myself more like Peter, denying Jesus to exalt myself, then like John, stepping aside for Jesus to be known. From platforms to podcasts, I have subtly and not so subtly basked in the glory of public approval. I have drunk my fill of praise and adulation and every time it has left me sick, far from God, and thirsting for something that no standing ovation can provide. If you can relate to this, don’t feel bad. We all carry the same addiction. We all long for glory in one way or another. We all struggle with the call of Jesus to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow him. 

Thank God for grace and mercy that is new every morning. Thank God for Jesus who is willing to pull us from the mud of our own self-promotion as often as we fall into it. He is able to set our feet on the rock of his person. And He longs to speak a new song into our hearts that is all about him. This is the song we really long to sing. We don’t always believe it, but it's true.

The call of our culture to “more of me” is a poison chalice that keeps us from what we really need while promising us what we think we want. This is why Jesus tells us, again and again, to proactively position ourselves as servants and slaves, taking the lowest place at the table and counting others as more significant than ourselves. He wants to help us create the necessary space to receive the life that is truly life- His life, that loves God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loves our neighbour as ourself.

Jesus wants us to receive the good life, where God gets the glory, and miraculously, we get God.