See but through a glass darkly.

A candle is lit

May my whole being be bright

With Your glory now.

O Lord, let my soul rise up to meet You

As the day rises to meet the sun.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,

As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever, Amen.

You might say, that sounds nice Heather- but what about the verse we just read together from John that the bad thing happens so that the glory of God can be displayed? Hmmmm???? What about that??? I am bringing this up because it was also my question, to myself.

After some reflection, I think it came down to the fact that I, at times, have a distorted definition of glory. I sometimes feel like the godly thing to pray, “Dear God, thanks for this awful thing that happened to me so that you, God, can bask in some sort of wonderful glory that makes you look good but is horrible for me and means that I am in extraordinary pain. Thanks. Amen.” This is not the definition of glory and I don’t think that Jesus wants us to adopt that type of definition.

True glory is something that fills up and blesses everyone. With true glory, everyone feels more loved and more light and more seen. There is a verse in the Old Testament that says the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord like water fills the sea. There is no difference between water and the sea- the sea is water. The world will be filled with a heavenly good where everything is actually GOOD. Everything will be shot through with lightness and laughter and hope. When we run into the heavenly good we have a deep sense of joy.

And when Jesus says glory- He is talking about THIS type of glory- the heavenly good that is actually good for everyone. There is a type of heavenly good that can come out of pain if we let Jesus get involved because otherwise, it’s just plain old pain. And it should not be called anything otherwise. –Heather Voelkel

Restore us, O God of hosts: show the light of Your countenance, and we shall be saved. Psalm 80:7

Place your mind before the mirror of eternity! Place your soul in the brilliance of glory! Place your heart in the figure of the divine substance! And transform your whole being into the image of the Godhead itself through contemplation. –Clare of Assisi

There was no holding back at the cross. The entirety of the Godhead committed itself to that crux of unconditional love.

And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” –Luke 7:40

Speak, LORD, for Your servant is listening.