Degrees of Glory

Saturday, January 15th, 2011

Today's Passage: 2 Corinthians 3
Memory Verse(s): 2 Cor. 3:17-18

I often hear of secret organizations where you have to go through "degrees" of growth or discipleship.  Not "degrees" as in certificates of learning, but "degrees" as in levels of understanding and maturity in the knowledge of what that organization stands for.  Even a skilled player of any game knows that, in order to be an expert, you have to pass more difficult levels, overcoming the obstacles or fulfilling the requirements that are necessary to get to the next one.

I guess that's why the Net version of this passage jumped out at me when I saw that there are "degrees" of glory available in our relationship with the Father.  I find it interesting that we strive to get to the next level at work, in our personal lives, in one of those secret organizations I was talking about, or even in a particular game we like.  But when it comes to pursuing God on a level where more is required of us, we become suspicious and fall back even farther.  

So what is it that we do when God's glory shows up?  While our present-day representatives of Moses (pastors) are on the mountain seeking the face of the Father, are we believing God that His glory's on the way, or are we scraping our few trinkets together to create idols when we think no-one's looking?  Between Sunday and Wednesday, how close are we coming to pursuing deeper dimensions of God so that we can move on to greater levels?

This is how you can tell who's reflecting the glory of the Lord with unveiled faces: the ones who don't turn away when He manifests Himself.  Yes, there are things about us that God requires us to change in order to reflect His glory.  But because some of us are reluctant to change, we fall back into patterns of tradition and religion, denying the power thereof just like the children of Israel did.  So rather than lose ourselves in the freedom of God's love, we hasten to make Moses cover his face.  To tell the truth, we can't even enjoy the freedom of worship because we're so busy worrying about what we have to give up.  But if we're just willing to let go and trust God to be gentle in the process or removing what we need to be stripped of, we'll find that the journey to each "degree of glory" is flowered with the joy of getting to know Him more and more.

Prayer: Father, show me Your glory.  I'm not afraid of the sacrifice required to obtain it.  I bask in the wonder of freedom in You.  May I never run from the fire that burns things off of my life as well as fills me with passion to pursue more of You.  In Jesus' Name, Amen.