December 23
Through the Gospel We Share in Christ’s Glory
He called you to this through our gospel, that you might share in the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thessalonians 2:14
Have you ever imagined what you would do if you won the lottery? If you’re anything like me, we justify the fantasy by telling ourselves, “Of course I’d share lots of it, especially with the church, non-profits, and the needy.” Part of us knows that, if we become wealthy, we really ought to share the wealth. And we’ll often praise rich people who do share the wealth.
Who’s wealthier than God? He’s the Lord of the universe, the owner of everything. And not only is he the richest person imaginable, he’s also a God who shares his riches. Paul says God shares with us “the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 2:14).
What’s included in the glory of Christ? Well, since we’ve been made children of God the Father, we get the same glory God the Father gives his Son. Future glories include our eternal glorious inheritance and a state of glorious perfection. And we have glories right now. When Jesus was praying to his Father in Gethsemane, he spoke of a “glory you have given me” that “I have given to them [the disciples]” (John 17:22). The disciples had already received glory from God through faith, that is, the salvation that immediately becomes ours the moment we’re brought from spiritual death to life.
But we’ve been given another glory that we often forget is glorious. On the eve of his passion and crucifixion, Jesus said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified” (John 12:23). The most glorious Jesus we know of is the Jesus of the cross, because hidden behind that sacrificial death is everything that made it possible for God to share so much with us.
Is it possible that, when Paul says we might share in the glory of Jesus, he also has in mind our own crosses as Christians? When we suffer for his name, aren’t we sharing in the glory of Jesus our Redeemer? After all, what’s more glorious than being given a heart like Christ’s, a heart ready to serve rather than be served, a heart ready to share?
Heavenly Father, thank you for forgiving my sins fully and clothing me in the glorious robes of Christ. Motivated by your grace, I pray you also help me bear my cross as the glorious calling it is, mirroring and pointing to the cross of Christ, the source of my eternal glory. Amen.
Rev. Luke Thompson serves Martin Luther College as a professor of theology.
