2 Corinthians 3:18. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
In yesterday’s reading we learned that all spiritual growth begins with the simple faith of beholding. Gazing upon, thinking about, contemplating, longing for the glory of the Lord that is seen in the cross of Christ.
OK, so we change by worshiping God through beholding his glory in the cross? Yes.
But how is this possible in the day to day of our busy lives? Isn’t beholding the cross something we can only really do in church, or maybe during our “quiet time?” How do we behold the cross at work? At school? At play? Is this even possible?
Yes, it is? How? Because everything, yes everything, we do each day is meant to point us to the blazing center of the glory of God in the cross of Jesus.
The blazing center?
Think about our solar system. At the blazing center of our solar system is the sun. Everything revolves around the sun and receives its energy from the sun. Now think about your life as a solar system. And at the blazing center of the solar system of your life is the SON. Christ and the cross. Every good thing in our lives comes from and points back to the cross of Christ. Because of the cross, everything good is now eternal. Because of the cross, Jesus now sustains, redeems, and transforms all things. When we open our eyes to the all-encompassing work of Christ on the cross we are ready to behold the glory of Christ in EVERYTHING that we do.
Everything in our lives can either distract us from the glory of the cross, OR it can point us to the glory of the cross.
Think about the good things in your life as a giant target. At the bull’s eye of the target is the glory and goodness of God. On the outer rings might be simple things like a good cup of coffee, or taking a nap. As we move closer to the bull’s eye there might be things like success at work, a nice email, a great catch in football. Moving toward the center we experience deeper things like art, music, or literature. Moving closer still are our intimate relationships and more transcendent feelings and experiences like love, joy, or peace.
You see, everything on this “target” is good. We don’t set any of these things aside and replace them with Jesus. We allow each and every good thing to point us to Jesus. If it is good it reflects the goodness of God. If it is good, then it required love and sacrifice, just like the cross. And so everything on our target, everything in our life, points us to the love and sacrifice of the cross of Christ.
Let’s keep moving closer still to the center of our target. Just around the bull’s eye (the blazing center) is the church. This is where the glory of God dwells today – in each and every Christian. We are God’s temple. The greatest way to behold the glory of the cross is not by staring at crosses. It’s by looking at one another, loving one another, serving one another, beholding Jesus IN one another. In the rejoicing and sorrowing of the body of Christ.
So now we have made it to the bull’s eye of our target – Christ and the cross. Christ is the greatest display of the glorious goodness of God. Christ’s work on the cross is the greatest reflection of the mercy, grace, holiness, and righteousness of God. And “to live is Christ” is to live beholding the glory of the cross. How? By letting everything in life take our hearts on a journey to the blazing center of God’s love and grace found in Jesus and the glory of his cross.
You
Do you allow God’s good gifts to distract you from the cross or point you toward it?
You in Christ
How can your union with Christ change how you see everything in your life (big and small)? Is it all for his glory, or your own?
Christ in you
How can you practice letting the ordinary things of this life point you to the goodness and love of the cross of Jesus?
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Playlist: The Blazing Center.
Click Here to this playlist on Spotify!
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To see today’s post from the TLIC Family blog –> Click Here
To Live is Christ 