April 7

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. — 2 Cor 3:18 BSB

A view of Christ’s glory, and a taste of the bliss it brings, transforms the soul. By nature, we are proud, covetous, and worldly, easily led astray and deeply entangled in various lusts and passions. We are inclined toward evil, resistant to good, quick to be lifted by prosperity, and easily cast down by adversity. We grow irritable under trials, rebellious under hardship, ungrateful for daily blessings like food and clothing, and constantly show the corruption of our nature. To be freed from these overwhelming evils and made “fit for the inheritance of the saints in light,” we must be “transformed by the renewing of our mind” and conformed to Christ’s image.

This transformation only happens by beholding His glory through faith. As the Apostle says, “But we all, with unveiled faces, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, by the Spirit of the Lord.” This believing view of Christ’s glory sustains us through heavy trials, producing meekness and submission to God’s will. We are called to “consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart,” and to “run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus.”

When sickness strikes, we need special support. As the sands of our time run out, with no turning back, and our “days are passing like the swift ships, like the eagle swooping to the prey,” death and eternity rush toward us. When the body collapses under pain and disease, and every source of happiness from health and strength is gone, when flesh and heart fail and the body prepares for death, what can uphold the soul and carry it through the flood of Jordan but the glimpses of Christ’s glory that make the soul sick of this earth, sin, and self, and willing to lay the body in the grave to be forever captivated by His glory and love?

Thus, we see that Christ’s glory is not only the unspeakable joy of the saints in heaven, where glorified souls and bodies will bear an “eternal weight of glory,” but even here on earth, in times of tribulation and sorrow, His revealed glory supports and strengthens His people. It draws them away from the world, breaks the power of sin, unites them to Christ, comforts them in death, and leads them into glory.

We see Christ like the sun, illuminating all of heaven with His glory—the delight of the Father, the joy of the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and the adoration of the angels. But He also shines on the paths of the just on earth, casting His blessed light on all their troubles and sorrows, guiding them from the suffering cross to the triumphant crown.