How Great is Our God
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John 17:1-5
1. When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify thy Son that the Son may glorify thee, 2. since thou hast given him power over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom thou hast given him. 3. And this is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. 4. I glorified thee on earth, having accomplished the work which thou gavest me to do; 5. and now, Father, glorify thou me in thy own presence with the glory which I had with thee before the world was made.
Jesus is in the garden awaiting his arrest. This is the first part of the prayer that has been called the “high priestly prayer.” Jesus has glorified God by doing His will on earth. In that way, He was the role model for all Christians to follow. He was born to die on the cross—but He did so much more, didn’t He?! He obeyed God’s will at every point of decision in His life. And He always, always gave God the glory for any good, for any miracle, for any mercy, and for His grace. He lived to glorify God! That is our only task, too. To glorify God. When we have done that obediently we can be assured of rejoicing with Him in heaven! It’s not easy, but it’s that simple. It’s not an attainable goal—perfection—but it is a goal to strive for. It is in the striving that we fulfill our purpose for living. It is in the attempt that others may look at us and say, “Look how faithful they are. Their God must be great and good indeed!”
Jesus knows he has perfectly obeyed His father. He is prepared to “finish the job.” He is bound to be tired, weighed down by the weight of flesh and bone. He longs for His divinely appointed place in heaven. He must longingly dream of that glory in which he shared from before the dawn of time. Can you even imagine? Giving up heaven for us? Giving up divinity? How can we choose any way but love and obedience in light of that? How can we gripe or complain about any hardship or annoyance in our daily lives? How can even illness or death be a burden when viewed in the great sacrifice our Holy, Divine, Perfect Christ made for us?
I have a lump in my throat as I realize my sinfulness and unworthiness to even represent Him! But that is my commission – it is the commission of every Christian. To represent God on earth. And the only way to do that is to recognize our inadequacy and our unworthiness. And then to thank God that through His choosing us and desiring to use us in His world, we become worthy and more than adequate! Through His power and grace we become His messengers. We may not be wise or strong or powerful or famous—but we are blessed beyond imagining! And when others hear our words and see how we live our lives, surely they will say, “Their God must be great and good indeed!”
I hope you spend today proclaiming God's goodness and grace, so that all whom you encounter declare, “How great is your God.”
Mary
