These words have been running circles
through my brain fairly frequently since the first of December, “...and we beheld
his glory.” I finally took the time
to look up the verse, found in John 1:14.
It’s really a great Word for a Christmas Day reflection: And the Word
became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory - glory as of the only
begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Jesus, the Son of God, willingly
wrapped himself in flesh and came to earth one star-filled night, in order that
we might behold his glory! Imagine! Unfathomable!
Think about that original Christmas morning:
Mary was the first to behold his
glory - as a small baby wrapped in her arms, flesh against flesh, and she
nurtured him. She beheld his glory as he
grew strong, good, kind, and full of grace & truth - and she pondered the
events of his life as they unfolded. His
earthly father saw that glory - and made sure he was protected. Rulers heard rumors of his glory, and
trembled in fear, trying to rid the world of him. Shepherds and wise men, beheld his glory, and
they worshipped him. His disciples
beheld his glory and followed him. The
masses beheld his glory and crowded around him, desiring a touch from him, in
the hopes that they would receive healing.
The religious took note of his glory, and they crucified him. Yet, the world was forever changed because he
chose to dress in flesh and come to earth, simply to serve, and as he served he
sought and saved the lost. Generations
later, he saved me! Hopefully, that is
you.
Yet, I don’t want that salvation
moment of “beholding his glory” to be a one-time event in my life. It is so easy to allow the celebration of our
Savior to be lost in the chaos of the hustle and bustle of the day – every day! It is easy to lose the miracle of the moments,
those glory-beholding-events meant just for me, when I am distracted by
busy-ness. I may not have rulers, or
kings, trying to rid me of Jesus in my world, but I do have an enemy who tries
to rob me of the joy in my journey. I
want to take time in the middle of this very special day (and every day of the
new year) to ponder him, to re-commit to nurturing his growth in my heart (that
he might grow greater, and I might be less), to protect my time with him, to
worship him, to allow him to touch and heal my heart from all woundedness, and to
re-focus on following him closer still.
In the following days, I pray that more often than not, I am able to
truthfully and consistently proclaim, “…I beheld his glory!”
And when I see those moments glittering in the "son light", like diamonds slipping from his hand, I pray those little glory-beholding gifts, shine brighter than the darkness of the coals of hardship; and I pray my response is, indeed, like that of the wise men and disciples.
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