“Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.” (John 12:42-43)
Many of us are probably looking back on the year 2010 as a great year. For some, how successful a year was is determined by how many great things they did or how many great things happened to them. We can all look back, then, and list the top three things that we loved about 2010. But what if I asked you to look back and list the top three things that were most difficult? In addition to the times that were great, I believe that we should also measure how successful a year was by the times we were humbled by God. I will go further and venture to say that, as Christians, if we cannot think back and remember even one time when we were humbled by God, where He brought something to the forefront of our mind or showed us something deep within our hearts, than we probably have not grown spiritually in the last year. So, my prayer is that for this coming year God would give us an ambition for His glory.
In the verses above, we find that many of the people in Jesus day believed in Him, but for FEAR of the pharisees they did not confess their belief in Jesus. (Vs. 42) This was because they would have been put out of the synagogue. Their religious reputation would have been sunk. This certainly would have affected their work, family and other relationships. This was a big deal. Before Jesus came along, life was good. After Jesus came along, things began to change. I want you to notice that while John writes that many people because of their FEAR of people did not confess Jesus, he writes in the next verse (Vs. 43) that the reason they did not want to be put out of the synagogue was because they LOVED the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God. In other words, at the root it was not FEAR of losing what they had that kept them from following Jesus, but LOVE for what they had that kept them from following Jesus. The same can be said of us. At the root, it’s not FEAR of losing what we have that keeps us from following Jesus, but LOVE for what we have that keeps us from following Him. We feel great and successful when people notice us, accept us and praise us. We love our glory! But really we cannot follow Jesus unless we are willing to not be noticed, not accepted and not praised by others. In order for Jesus to draw our hearts away from ourselves and our glory, and near to Him and His glory, our hearts go through constant change. Because knowing Jesus is the greatest definition of success and joy, God lovingly comes to convict us, break us, mold us, to create a new heart within us and transform our desires, so that we can let go of everything we’ve loved to take hold of Jesus Christ.
Jesus is God's glory. To live for God's glory is to live for Jesus, to recognize and value Him as the heaviest and weightiest object of worth. Living for God’s glory means dying to my glory. I cannot live for Jesus and live for myself. Therefore, I must die to myself to bring glory to Jesus. This is good news since Jesus also says that those who seek His glory will be honored by the heavenly Father. (John 12:26) Such honor cannot compare with any other honor. May God give us an ambition for His glory in this new year and beyond.
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