find myself in need of perseverance. My desire is to be found ten, twenty, thirty years from now with a fervent prayer life and a heart surrendered to the Lord. To attain that goal, I know that I need diligence in the spiritual disciplines today and every day. I want to love the Lord with all my heart, day in and day out, for the rest of my life. But no matter how sincere my intentions, my dedication is weak and I’m easily distracted. So I pray for God to keep me steady in His strength. As I pray for myself, Paul’s prayer for the Philippians is one of my favorites to make my own:
And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness, to the glory and praise of God.
-Philippians 1:9-11
How can I remain sincere and without offense until the day of Christ? While praying that God would keep me is a huge part, God has also given us promises which should motivate our hearts. We have hope in God that, at the resurrection, all creation will be delivered from the decay of sin. Even our bodies will be redeemed, and the groaning inside our hearts will be answered. This hope is so great that Paul says “the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18-25)
How is this glory revealed? 1 Corinthians 15, the chapter on the resurrection, gives a stunning answer. Our natural bodies are sown like a seed that goes into the ground and dies. But they will be raised from the ground. “The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.” Just as we have been in the likeness of Adam and his dust, we shall also be in the likeness of Jesus and His heavenly body.
In the middle of this chapter, Paul points out the differing glory of the stars. Each star shines with a different glory, and some are brighter than others. The book of Daniel adds that when those who sleep in the dust awake, “those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament… like the stars forever and ever.” (Daniel 11:2-3). The wisdom and righteousness of our lives in this age will be reflected in the radiance of our resurrected bodies, and some will shine brighter than others. When Jesus comes in radiant glory in the clouds, we too will shine with Him. How brightly we shine will be a testimony of His leadership in our lives, and the sky will be illuminated for His glory.
I don’t want to have a dull glow and be ashamed in that Day when what I’ve done in secret will be rewarded openly. There is a real time coming when we will receive reward for our little choices of faithfulness in the mundane day-to-day. Today, I focus myself on the reward and eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
