The Glory of the Son of Man (continued)

Beloved, in continuance of our theme, “The Glory of the Son of Man” – the Apostle Paul’s declaration that “the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now” (Romans 8:22) teaches us that the whole world has been in pain and sorrow as intense as that of a woman in labor. This has been the case ever since the first World War. I challenge those of you who doubt what I am saying to conduct some research in places (libraries, the Internet, etc.) that keep records of historical news articles. You will find that during that time, the secular press often used a scripture from the same chapter of the Book of Romans to console the torn and bleeding soldiers in the front lines and their broken-hearted loved ones back at home. That scripture was used to caption the famous painting that portrayed a wounded soldier being directed by an angel who said, “I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18). How significant is this painting? Much remains unchanged today. The United States is at war in the Middle East as we speak. Hostages are still being taken, and we are still fighting battles that are not on our soil. This should be a sign to us Christians that if there was ever a time for “the Glory of God” to shine on His sons, that time is right now!

Chosen Ones, while the world is “groaning without” (because of what they see), we who do have the first fruits of Jesus’ Spirit should (as Paul taught) “groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our [bodies]” (Romans 8:23). In other words, we Christians should be expecting complete sonship so that we can have redemption through the new bodies that God has promised us.

Precious Ones, until that time comes, the next best option is to allow the “Glory of the Son of Man” to shine through our vessels of clay. The world needs us! Our God left this on record for us when He said to Abraham, “I will make of thee [My chosen vessels] a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou [the chosen ones] shalt be a blessing [the Glory of God shall shine through His people]” (Genesis 12:2).

I will write more on this subject next week. Until then, know this…

I feel so fortunate to know you all.
In His Love,

Pastor William L. McCoy