nawinter.com

Normally around this time of year, I emerge from my self-imposed summer writing hiatus to compose a back-to-school post. Of course, this year is anything but normal, and for many of us, back-to-school looks incredibly different from what we anticipated. Instead of spending the last few weeks buying new clothes and completing our supply lists, we have been eagerly awaiting news about what school would look like and whether our kids would be once again learning from home. Instead of approaching the new year with excitement, we have been filled with uncertainty, and perhaps even apprehension. Expectations are obscure, and we may wonder what God is doing.

Of course, just because we are unclear about how God is working, it doesn’t negate the fact that He is at work. While we didn’t know that this is what 2020 would look like, it didn’t catch God by surprise. Though the way is unclear to us, He is still accomplishing His good purposes in the lives of His children, and in the world. And He will continue to do so – regardless of our level of confidence that we can predict what the coming days will entail.

William Carey, a renowned missionary to India, famously said, “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.” Often when we consider this quotation, we switch the two sentences around. We think we are to attempt great things for God, and then we can expect Him to do great things. But that is not the case. God is doing great things – because He is God and this is what He does. And because we can be confidently assured that God is doing great things for and in His children, we can attempt great things for Him. Even if that means we don’t know what the school days will hold, or how we will balance our new responsibilities that have emerged as a result of the pandemic. We can expect to see His beauty, and His majesty, and His goodness in this world, even when we may be tempted to be overwhelmed with the evil and contention around us. And we can anticipate that we will look back at these days and see that He used them to produce good in the lives of His kids, and that as a result of our dependency on Him, our love for and faith in Him were strengthened and deepened.

So in the midst of the uncertainty that we face, let us embrace expectancy, eagerly anticipating that, as God’s kids, we will “look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13). And let us attempt great things for Him knowing that He will use the lives of His faithful kids to put His glory on display.

“But what about me?” can be a common refrain in our house. It is almost always said after someone receives a compliment. The child who utters these words is usually wondering whether they are equally as skilled in the complimented area, or whether they might receive their own recognition for their talents and gifts. They hear someone else receiving glory and they immediately want to share in the spotlight.

I suppose it is somewhat natural for each of us to desire recognition for the whole of who we are. We want our good attributes highlighted, and our negative ones ignored. As we get older, we might learn that it is more polite to celebrate the just recognition that others receive (instead of trying to divert the attention onto ourselves), but our desire for admiration is not diminished. We are creatures that seek glory – primarily the glory that we think we deserve.

It is remarkable then that Jesus, the one to Whom all glory is due, was willing to lay that aside when He came to Earth. Instead of constantly displaying His majesty and might, the fullness of His glory was cloaked by the incarnation. Instead of turning the spotlight on Himself, Christ sought to glorify the Father whom He served (John 17:4). Of course, there were times that God allowed for His glory to be glimpsed, but over the course of His Earthly ministry, these times were rare and had a limited audience. In an instance, Jesus could have revealed the awesomeness of Who He was to all who walked on the Earth, but doing so would have inhibited His Father’s work. Philippians 2:6 states, that Christ did not “count equality with God a thing to be grasped.” Cultivating personal glory was not what was most important to Him; obedience to His Heavenly Father was.

This is no small thing – the laying aside of Christ’s glory. God, who is so radiant that man cannot behold him, came to this Earth and had “no beauty that we should admire Him” (Is. 53:2).  The One to Whom all majesty is ascribed walked through this world without any sense of elegance or brilliance. There was little in His appearance that drew people to Him and prior to his public ministry, his reputation seems to be almost nonexistent. Yet He was the King of the creation, and the One who through whom everything was made (Col. 1:16). The whole world should have been paying attention to Him, yet precious few did. Even today, very few people are willing to acknowledge Him for Who He is.

As people who are quick to seek recognition for what makes us special, it should astound us that Christ was willing to do this.  We struggle when we do not get properly acknowledged over minor things; but the all-knowing, all-powerful One put His glory aside for the sake of those He loved. He knew that taking the penalty for our sin required Him to take on flesh and dwell among us, and He did so because through His resurrection from the dead, our redemption would be secured. He gave up what He was due that we might experience His unmerited favor. He laid aside majesty that we may be bestowed mercy; He sacrificed glory that we may get grace. Let us not forget this as we celebrate Him this season, and let us in turn, seek to glorify Him as He deserves.