Glorify God!

Glorify God! Jesus, being troubled in His soul, prayed that God would be glorified in the hour of His death and ultimate burial, resurrection, and ascension!

27 Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.
28 Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.
29 The people therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him.
30 Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.
31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
33 This he said, signifying what death he should die.
(John 12:27-33, King James Version)

Glorify God!

What a sobering Bible passage. Would you really like to know the future? How would you feel if you knew that you were going to be put to death on a cross in just a few days' time? In His humanity, we know that Jesus agonized over the things that were to come. However, did He ever really want to change His mind?

Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.

This is the very reason He came to this earth. Jesus cried out to His Father, God, Father, glorify Thy name.

Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.

The people heard the voice, but could not understand what was said--it sounded like thunder to them. They did not have ears to hear!

Jesus then went on, Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.

That was the very reason that Jesus came! Satan, the prince of this world would now be cast out, due to the death of Christ on the cross.

I know that we are not perfect like Christ and therefore could not die for ourselves, much less for others. But, I think we expect more from Christ, the man, than we do from ourselves. Christ was single minded in His purpose for being here, and He did not waver from that purpose for one minute.

As new creatures in Christ, our purpose for being here is just as finite as was Christ's. We are not here to bathe in the glory of this world, but rather, we are here to live for Christ and to say, with Christ, Father, glorify Thy name. That is it!

Yes, we may enjoy the wonderful things in this world that God has given to us, but that is not to be our main focus for life! Why do we persist to live as do the unsaved who have no hope? It is a good question, is it not? We all struggle with this; we are so entangled in the web of this world, that our focus is drawn away from Christ again and again!

Let us pray, today, that we would take up the cross that God has given to us and boldly go forth saying, "May I glorify God in all areas of my life!"

Next: Children of Light - Verses 34-36