A Burden of Glory
What if I told you that God’s greatest desire for us and our most important obligation in the Christian life was the pursuit of joy? Would you believe me?
Many wouldn’t. For many good, dedicated Christians, the concept of sacrifice, dying to oneself, discipline and training, mortifying the flesh, all have a rather somber, serious tone about them that leaves little room for joy.
I understand them but I don’t agree.
I have to say that this is my favorite “truth” in the seven truths of Romans 8.
We looked at the truth that there is now NO CONDEMNATION (Romans 8:1) and the truth that there are also NO EXCUSES since we have the power of the Holy Spirit within us (Romans 8:11).
Then the obvious question always comes up, “How do I know that I have the Holy Spirit in me?” and there we talked about the truth of EVIDENCE OF LIFE (Romans 8:15b, 16) which the Holy Spirit himself gives us.
And then we talked about the truth of SUFFERING and GLORY (Romans 8:17,18) which make all of us a bit uncomfortable (but maybe excited at the same time).
But I have to say that I am always blown away by this whole idea of PRAYER SUPPORT (Romans 8:26,27,34).
I have an idea for a book (and maybe a movie) called A Glimpse of Glory.
It’s the story of a black worship leader who loses his sister to a mugging gone wrong and she is stabbed and killed. Of course this creates a crisis of faith and he goes into a tailspin of grief and guilt which leads him into a frantic search for his sister’s killer. He ends up one night in the very same bar, nursing a drink and wondering what he is doing with his life. He decides to leave and try to get his life back on track but, first, he has to go to the bathroom.
On the way to relieve himself, he feels a knife pressed into his back and a voice in his ear telling him to step outside through the back door. Once in the alley behind the bar, his assailant demands all of his money, using his knife as a warning and a motivation to hurry.
