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Glory—The Ability to Outlive Your Own Life

The gospel paradox—so strange and true—is that our darkest moments carry with them the weight of glory. That God makes Himself known not despite the wreckage of our lives but through the wreckage itself. Even death is a witness to the goodness of Jesus. 

The stoning of Stephen would seem to be one of the darkest moments in the early church, but from the horror of that moment, life came barreling through. While Stephen saw the face of Jesus, it was the face of Stephen in death that Paul would never forget. It was tattooed on his soul.

Later, it would be unbearable at times for Paul to live with the guilt. He had to remind himself not to dwell on the shame of his violent past—which Jesus forgave—but to fix his gaze on the face of Christ. Stephen experienced the glory of God during his life’s most horrible moment. This same glory appeared to Saul when he became Paul on the road to Damascus (Acts 9). That same glory continued through Paul as he wrote his letters and continues today as those letters are read across the world by millions of people.

Jesus prayed for His Father to forgive those who crucified Him. Stephen prayed for God to forgive those who stoned him. And at the end of his life, Paul would pray for God to forgive those who abandoned him. All three, Jesus, Stephen, and Paul, are showing you how to be stronger—how to forgive, how to stand when forgotten and abandoned, and how to love your enemies. 

The day is coming when the glory of God will be witnessed in its full form for all creation to see. But in the meantime, God gives us glimpses of His glory. We still feel our weakness, but we see His strength. In our weakness, in our brokenness, fear, and confusion, the life and the glory of God are surging through us into the world. The resurrection power of Jesus is at work within us, even when we feel like we are wasting away. He is with us and for us and by His grace . . . we are getting stronger: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16).

How might God use your weakness? In what ways will He showcase His power through your pain?