Tag Archives: Joel Beeke

Wasted by Glory

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“For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”
Habakkuk 2:14 ESV

I know there’s always the danger of coming home from a conference and feeling dissatisfied with life and work.  You go away for a couple of days, free from the stress and busyness of the everyday life, and is drudgery having to get back into the same old routine again.  You struggle to implement the great ideas you picked up, and no one else shares your enthusiasm.  You can’t go back to the mountain top, and eventually the passion dies.  I’ve been through this before, I recognize it for what it is, and I know to avoid it.

However, what I’m experiencing this week is something completely different.  Last week I attended the Desiring God Pastor’s Conference.  Speaking at the conference on prayer were such authors as Joel Beeke, Mark Dever, Francis Chan, and John Piper.  1700 pastors were led in uplifting worship by a fantastic band.  Yes, I came home with some great ideas, a few more books to fill the shelves, and a renewed sense of commitment in prayer. 

In a few months, the remarkable things that were said may be forgotten.  I may get bogged down and forget my resolve.  I may have to walk away from the mountain top and live among the maddening crowds.  But there is something that I will never lose.

In a unique way, this conference allowed me, through the reading of scripture and “prayerful prayer” to, for a brief moment, have a taste of the all-surpassing glory of God.  For just a moment, I saw myself for who I truly am – a sinner in need of grace, distracted by so many things from the greatness and glory of God, chasing after so many lesser loves rather than resting in the wonderful love of my blessed redeemer – and I saw God glorified and lifted up – full of grace and truth, redeeming and restoring all whom He calls to Himself, sanctifying and preserving His church. 

I have been wasted by glory, I cannot be the same. 

I will work twice as hard to in some way communicate the glory of God in my messages, but I know that even in my greatest eloquence I will always fall short.

I have committed to renewed prayer, but now find myself waiting in silence, recalling God’s words of scripture, allowing Him to speak to my heart and mind.

I cannot read through Scripture without stopping in amazement at how God’s goodness and glory jump off of every page.

The gadgets and stuff that I once daydreamed about seem silly to me now.

I still find beauty in the world around me, joy in the love of family and friends, but my heart is consumed with a passion that lies elsewhere.

Food doesn’t even taste as good, now that I have “tasted” the goodness of God.

I have been wasted to the world by the glory of God.

And yet, I find a renewed appreciation for the blessings God has provided, a renewed love for my wife and kids, and a greater compassion for the church and for those in need.

Because the world no longer holds the answer for me, because my eyes are fixed on Christ, the author and finisher of my faith, perhaps now I am of more use to God and benefit to the world.

May my life reflect the glory of the Lord, that all may know His greatness and love.

SDG

Gripped by the Cross

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“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
(1 John 4:10 ESV)

How would you define love?  Is it an emotion or feeling that you get when you are around someone you adore, someone who makes you feel good just being in their presence?  Is love an act of the will, a conscious decision to show someone kindness, compassion, mercy, and tenderness?  When we say “I love you” do we really mean “I love me, and I want you”? 

The Apostle John defines love for us saying, “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”  God defined what love means by demonstrating his love for us in Jesus Christ.  When we were lost in our sins, unloving and unlovable, God loved us still, and sent his son to die for us (John 3:16, Romans 5:8).  Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13), then proceeded to demonstrated that love by going to the cross.  During that same conversation in John’s gospel, Jesus also told his followers, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35).

Dr. Joel Beeke writes in his Epistles of John that “the great motivation for practical, Christlike living is the doctrine of the cross; hence, every failure to love can be traced back to a failure to understand the cross.  When the cross of Christ grips us, everything in our world changes.”

If love has been defined in the cross of Christ, then our failure to love in the church, in our homes, in our community with a Christlike love is simply because either we don’t understand what the cross really means or we forget to that the cross should affect every relationship and every decision.  Either way, our failure to love belies our failure to really understand the cross.

When we have been gripped by the Cross of Christ, when the beauty, tragedy, and grace of the cross really shakes us, our lives will never be the same.  J.I. Packer writes “Christ as crucified is the great object of our live, or should be… in the death of Christ do his love, his grace, his condescension, most gloriously shine forth.  Sin nowhere appears so hateful as at Calvary, and lust shrivels up in the Christian’s heart while he keeps Calvary in view.”  If we keep the cross before us, we will learn to live like he lives and love like he loves.  If we really want to be a more loving church, a more loving people, let us keep the cross of Jesus before us. 

SDG