Tuesday June 3 WE WERE CREATED TO GIVE GOD GLORY [JOHN 17:1-11]

WE WERE CREATED TO GIVE GOD GLORY [JOHN 17:1-11]

“Father, glorify Your Son so that the Son may glorify You” (John 17:1).

History has shown us how beautifully Jesus’ prayer was answered. Jesus the only Son of the Father, came to earth to do God’s will – and, because He did it perfectly, He received eternal glory.

Jesus, who was crucified and shed His precious blood – Jesus, who died out of love for us and so completed the will of the Father – Jesus, who opened the gates of heaven and secured for us eternal life – this Jesus Christ is risen and glorified! Seated at the right hand of God, He constantly intercedes for us. All the angels in heaven rejoice before His throne. They bow low in adoration and cry out, “Holy holy holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory!” (Isaiah 6:3).

How does this heavenly reality affect our lives here on earth? We too were created to give God glory. Saint Paul tells us that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before Him (Ephesians 1:4). Through our fall into sin, however, we lost our relationship with God, and we lost our ability to manifest His glory as fully as we are called to. This is why Jesus came to us: to reveal the Father’s glory to human hearts and so turn us into living witnesses of His glory to the world around us. Christ in us now, transforming us into His image and likeness, is our hope of giving glory to the Father.

Examining our consciences, we must ask, “Does my life glorify the Father and the Son? Do I know that even in the smallest circumstances of my life – in my work for the Church, in my love for my family, in my witness to my neighbors – I can glorify God? The more we think, act and relate to others as Jesus would, the more our lives bring praise and honor to the Lord. As we approach Pentecost, let us make room in our hearts for the Holy Spirit. Let us allow Him to conform us to Christ more fully so that we too can live the praise of His glory.

Jakarta, 3 June 2014

A Christian Pilgrim