The Glorious Joy Series

Glorious Joy

But Peter doesn’t let things rest there. His message is not reduced to “cheer up, your sufferings produce character.” Many a person would happily reply, “Give me less character” if there were nothing more. But there is more. This genuine faith results in something far more – praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.

Peter is speaking here of Christ’s return and what will take place then. We spoke last week of being saved now and yet our salvation not being complete. We are saved from the guilt of sin, yet we sin. We are saved from condemnation, yet we still suffer from the effects of a fallen world. We experience suffering, we experience disease, and we experience death. When Christ returns, our salvation will be complete and there will be no sin, no effects from sin, no illness, not even death.

And we look forward to that. I would say that we would all be happy with that. We would love a place of rest from troubles. We would be happy not having to labor to obtain the necessities of life. Peace, contentment; just the chance to be with all of our loved ones – that would more than satisfy us. And then we get to dwell with God. We will actually behold Jesus. What more could we ask?

There is more – praise, glory and honor. The commentators I use do not linger on this phrase. Indeed, while they give full discussion on the trials, they merely brush by on this reward, which seems to be an embarrassment for understandable reasons. It seems self-indulgent and mercenary to look for praise, glory and honor. It is one thing to seek peace, contentment or happiness. It is going much further to seek recognition. We don’t approve of such motives in people, especially in people who profess to be Christians or who are humanitarians. Does anyone say, “I am serving the poor in hopes that I will receive praise”? Or “I am committing myself to ministering to the needy so that I may be honored”? Would we approve of a person who, when asked why he lived a life of high integrity, replied, “So I could be glorified”?

But let’s think through this a little more. On one occasion my wife Ginger and I attended the 40th wedding anniversary celebration of a couple in our church in Philadelphia. Part of the festivities was an invitation for family and friends to say words about these two individuals. There was a long pause at first, and then one by one people would come up and testify of their character or the impact the two had made on their lives. This was a couple who over their forty years of marriage had given of themselves selflessly to many people, including the poor, troubled youth, and outcasts. And now, they were being publicly praised and honored. You could even say they were being glorified by the people who loved them. What you would have felt in that room was joy – joy in the people giving the praise and joy in the couple receiving the praise.