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.”
THEME OF THE DAY: SATISFIED IN CHRIST ALONE. The 17th century Puritan Pastor/Theologian, John Owen, in his excellent book The Glory of Christ wrote, “Only a sight of His glory, and nothing else, will truly satisfy people.”
What Owen states is what God ordains. He has determined all the yearnings in the human heart, all the longings within our very being, and our full satisfaction in life, death, and eternity is found exclusively in the Person of His Son, the Lord Jesus. There are images given by Jesus Himself illustrating this truth . . .
“Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life”” (John 4:13-14).
“Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst”” (John 6:35).
Each reference points to necessities for life, and also for satisfaction or contentment in life; bread and water. Pause for a moment and consider when these two things – food and water – become intense longings in our lives. For instance, thirst. A hot summer day is upon us, and we have been working in the yard or engaging in some other strenuous activity resulting in increased thirst; a craving after water. This thirst is not “It would be nice to have a drink of water.” No, it is the thirst like the deer of Psalm 42 . . .
“As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God” (Psalm 42:1).
Try to keep the deer away from a watering hole or flowing brook. They will not be denied. They must have their physical thirst satisfied. Now apply that to us, God’s children and our spiritual thirst for Him, His Son, and His Spirit.
Is our yearning for the living Bread of Jesus, and living Water of His Spirit intense as the deer is for physical water? When God gives us new life in Christ, new desires and new yearnings are given as well. We have this newfound desire for the Lord; to know Him, fellowship with Him, love Him, and we will not be denied the soul-satisfying experience in today’s scripture – “beholding the glory of the Lord”. Not only does such experience of beholding the holy beauties of the Lord change us into His image, it also brings the only source of contentment and satisfaction to the human heart and soul. And this beholding comes through diligent seeking of Him in His Word and prayer. It is diligence characterized by the heart and pursuit in the heart of the Apostle Paul . . .
“…that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death” (Philippians 3:10).
God saves us to know the soul-satisfying and heart-contenting experiences of His Son the Lord Jesus. May we not only seek such but earnestly pray the Lord would grant us such!
PRAYER: Father, grant me a deep passion to know Your Son and to honor You as He did You while upon the earth.
REFLECTION: Make sure that, every time we open the Bible, our prayer is “Lord, let me behold You. Let me know You.”