Do You See the Glory?

Some time ago, I was at a family conference at a Christan Retreat Center. I don't remember the particulars, but while there I found myself interacting one day with a believer who had obviously been impacted by the 'Toronto Blessing'. He seemed to be somewhat disappointed that I was not experiencing or promoting a more dynamic view of Christianity. I am more of an introvert and you have to look closely to see me smiling. It's how I'm wired. I'm just not all that excitable.

He had obviously been a part of the Airport Vineyard thing, where people have dramatic PHYSICAL manifestations of what they believe to be the Holy Spirit. He wanted to influence me in that direction, and insisted that we were totally missing out, because obviously, we aren’t experiencing any of THAT glory.

The rest of that day, I asked the Lord to show me where the glory is. If (as Paul declared in 2 Corinthians 3) this ministry that we have is MORE glorious than the glory the likes of which Moses experienced, I didn't see it.

All week we had guests there from a group home that took care of individuals with special needs; people who were pretty seriously challenged from a developmental point of view. Sometimes they would behave in ways that were not wrong, but just kind of socially awkward.

One of them walked up to me during the course of that day, stuck out his hand with a big grin on his face, shook my hand and with difficulty and a brilliantly shining face said, “I believe in Jesus. Do you?”

And God whispered in my ear, “Do you see the glory?”

I sat down at a table where I met a small girl. She was in a motorized wheelchair. Looked to be about 11 or 12 years old. Probably weighed all of 70 pounds. Her mother was sitting there as well. I forget the diagnosis of this girl.. but she wasn’t expected to live past her 16th birthday, and she is 29.

She can’t eat. She uses a feeding tube. She can’t control a number of her bodily functions. But she thrives on the life of Jesus, and her face shone. And God whispered in my ear: “Do you See the glory?”

I meet her father. He walks with great difficulty. He tells me he has Cerebral Palsy, but still works as a custodian. (I have learned since that worked at a nursing home and then at a drug company, doing custodial work. Several years ago the plant doctor decided that the job was too hard on him physically and recommended that he be put on a disability pension). As we talk about the things of the Lord, his face shines, and as he shared his life story with me, one heartache after another spills out. His financial situation is lousy because of the never ending health care needs he faces. Finally he tells me his wife was now diagnosed with the same diagnosis the daughter in the wheel chair had, but his greatest grief, get this, his greatest grief is that his oldest daughter is not walking with the Lord. His oldest daughter is the only physically healthy one of the family.

The tears are overflowing his eyes as he is telling me this. His face is glowing with the love of Christ, because his tears are not tears of sorrow and grief, they are tears of love for the Lord as he talks about how the Lord has sustained him, the Lord whispers in my ear, “Do you see the glory?”

I met people that week whose circumstances are terrible; whose health problems would put many of us into despair; whose financial lives are nonexistent.

And hands down, they displayed evidence of an abundant life that many others whose lives appeared to be pleasant and “normal” didn’t have.

And I have learned another lesson about what the abundant life really means.