Written by: April J. Buchanan
Set your eyes upon the glory that awaits, the glory of the Lord now revealed in part in this fallen world. As your heart increases in desire for that which awaits all who are His, the temporal glories of this world will fade in their beauty when compared with what is to come.
Men think treasures and glories, riches and honor, would delight their souls. Earthly comforts, prestige, and prominence may be offered to men, but even money cannot shield a man from earthly scorn or keep his name from coming to ruin. Men may be known for their many “indiscretions,” and money may preserve their name, but it is a tainted name, and they bring reproach upon the family name they seek to preserve. Others, equally guilty of their own sins and “indiscretions,” seek to protect their name and heritage, their wealth and comforts, and hide what would bring them shame, some at great cost.
Some will grow up never realizing the importance and prominence that may come with a family name. Fatherless, orphaned, abandoned children grow up with very little. Never have they heard that it is of great importance to possess a name that must be protected for what it affords them. They have no such name.
Poor men may also have a name and reputation, good or bad, just as the rich man does, but their place is low, and the privileges afforded by their name are nothing like those of the rich man. Their name may be known in prisons, or it may be known in the streets as that of a man upon whom others may rely. They may be called a good man, and their family may be known as one that has struggled, yet they are good people. He is proud of his good name, for he has earned it among men.
When the Lord calls each man to give an account of his life, all will alike stand before Him, save for the One Name that distinguishes those who belong to Him. Whether rich or poor, whether charitable from one’s abundance or giving of one’s body in service to a neighbor in need, or living in such poverty as to be most often on the receiving end of the generosity of men with prominent names, all will alike stand before the Lord. All must answer to Him concerning what they did with Christ.
Yet not all will remain equal in that day. It will be revealed who took His name upon their lips in blasphemy while their hearts increased in wickedness. It will be revealed who took His name upon their lips in hypocrisy, claiming to be His while remaining children of the devil. And it will be revealed who were truly born again, who did not despise His name, but by His sovereign grace persevered in the faith and lived as those who belonged to Him, bearing His name and seeking to uphold the glory of His name in their lives.
To these belong all the privileges joined with that Name, rich and poor alike. All who are truly His shall be ever His. Though they may have suffered scorn and loss for His name, their own names associated with Him and their lives adorning His name in a world that despises it, they shall inherit all He has promised to those who belong to Him. Above all, they shall inherit Him.
For they shall put off this world, with its comforts, delights, privileges, sufferings, hardships, and struggles. They have set their hearts and minds upon that which is better. And those who are truly His will bear His name gladly in this world and rejoice in that day when He calls them His own and welcomes them home.
For they are His. And He is theirs. What more could they ask? There is nothing more.
Fellow pilgrim, take heart, for His name shall never come to an end. Even amid your greatest sorrows and troubles in this world, His name, though despised by men, shall be vindicated, and He shall settle all accounts in the end. Be not ashamed of that good name. Look unto Him, and let not your heart faint. And if it does, return quickly to Him and find Him faithful. He is ever faithful. Glory awaits all who are His.
Leave a Reply