Called Out

A few selected verses that stood out to me in John 12 (all quoted from the Amplified Bible). . . .

v. 17 - The group that had been with Jesus when He called Lazarus out of the tomb and raised him from among the dead kept telling it [bearing witness] to others.

v. 24 - I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains [just one grain; it never becomes more but lives] by itself alone. But if it dies, it produces many others and yields a rich harvest.

v. 32 - And I, if and when I am lifted up from the earth [on the cross], will draw and attract all men [Gentiles as well as Jews] to Myself.

v. 42-43 - And yet [in spite of all this] many even of the leading men (the authorities and the nobles) believed and trusted in Him. But because of the Pharisees they did not confess it, for fear that [if they should acknowledge Him] they would be expelled from the synagogue; for they loved the approval and the praise and the glory that come from men [instead of and] more than the glory that comes from God. [They valued their credit with men more than their credit with God.]

And here's the nagging thought for me today, that I want to wrestle with some more . . .

When Christ is lifted up (praised, magnified, glorified) HE draws people to His marvelous light. Furthermore, I have seen "death to life" transformations in myself and in those around me. I can think of people I know who are truly living today because of the work God did in them that helped them leave behind the dead of their past. So, why do I not continually spread His Good News? Truth is, sometimes I love the approval of men more than the glory of God.

Ouch. That hurts.

I think I'm going to find someone to share the Good News with today. Not in a "shove it down someone's throat" sort of way, but in a "this is my incredible story" sort of way.

How about you? Are you living for the glory of man or the glory of God?