Say What You See: Jesus Glorified

“Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

Acts 7:56

When I think about all the things I could see, I am arrested by what Stephen saw.

The Bible is full of different stories and personalities. It is centred on God and how He reveals Himself in Jesus Christ. All the Old Testament points to Jesus, the rest of the New Testament celebrates God coming in the flesh.

I must confess, I found reading the Bible very hard. I found it that way because I didn’t know Jesus was the key. Knowing Jesus is the key to loving the scripture should inform us as to the main view we should be captivated by every day of our lives.

We have Jesus promised in the Old Testament. Types of Him are littered throughout scripture. We see the Son of God as the Son of Man realising the promise of the coming Messiah in Jewish hopes as well as being Saviour of the World. We see the crucified Christ suffering, bleeding and dying. We mourn His death.

We marvel at the resurrection. Now at this point let me put it to you that however much you know the story, surely there has got to be that sense of – WOW. He was dead and He is now alive. Now people coming back from the dead isn’t new to Scripture. But there is something different in this case. People have died, but no one had returned from death victorious over it. No one had defeated death. Yet in that garden as Mary thought she was talking to the gardener, she encountered the first of a kind.

This leads to not just the Jesus who rose from the dead, but He kept on rising. Indeed the vision of Jesus both Paul and Stephen encounter is the glorified Christ. He who sits and makes intercession for us. He who rules having conquered all and sets the standard for the life God intended for His creation. That is quite the vision.

That can inform how we look at humanity as we look at it through Him. That can inform how we look at our relationship with God’s creation. That can help us see the hope of redemption because He is The Redeemer. That can help us see peace in a war torn world because He is our Peace.

Any other vision that does not begin and end with Him is incomplete. Any vision of society that’s not based on Him is suspect to floundering. Marriage through Him is sustained. Friendship through Him is enriched. The death of a loved one is not final because of Him. The birth of a loved one hints at the new life that He alone offers. Working is a joy being dead with Him, through Him and for Him. Playing is a delight because being at the right hand of the Father means He is the source of pleasure forever more.

It makes no sense talking about what I see, until I look to Him and He fills all my vision. Without seeing Him I’m left in the dark. With Him I can see clearly.

For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden