Daily Reflection Tuesday of the Seventh Week of Easter

The divinity of Jesus is front and center in the gospel of John. Some refer to chapters 13 through 20 as The Book of Glory. This is very clear in chapter 17 verse 1 when Jesus says “Father the hour has come. Give glory to your son, so that your son may glorify you.” Jesus again mentions being glorified in verses 4 and 5, “I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work that you gave me to do. Now glorify me, Father, with you, with the glory that I had with you before the world began.”  Chapter 17, for me, ties together the humanity and the divinity of Jesus. Jesus reminds us that he was with the Father before the world began, he then reminds us of how he revealed the father to us with his words. John Chapter 1:14 says ‘And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.’  Jesus full of grace and truth now returns to the Father, to the glory he had before the world began. 

I can only image God’s glory and the kingdom of heaven. I get glimpses of that glory, here on earth, when I see kindness and compassion in other human beings. I see it when a parent comforts a crying child and reassures them everything is okay. I see it when someone hands a homeless person a hot meal and a warm coat in the winter. I see it when someone just sits quietly and lovingly listens to those who feel they have no voice. These examples are all glimpses of the kingdom here and now, of the work that God gives us to do, and yet they are nothing compared to what is to come.

I wonder what it will be like and what I will do in the presence of God. I pray that I can be someone who gives others a glimpse of the kingdom here on earth by my deeds. I often pray with music, and I Can Only Imagine by MercyMe is one of the songs I listen to and pray with. It is the perfect song for this gospel. You can clink on the link below to listen to the song in it's entirety. The chorus below sums up how I feel. I can only imagine! What do you imagine?

Surrounded by Your Glory
What will my heart feel?
Will I dance for you Jesus
Or in awe of You be still?
Will I stand in your presence
Or to my knees will I fall?
Will I sing hallelujah?
Will I be able to speak at all?
I can only imagine, yeah
I can only imagine

I Can Only Imagine by MercyMe