Your Eternal Glory, Good Father, or My Temporary, Earthly Gain?
- Sherry Coyle
- Jul 14
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 17
". . .[Jesus] looked toward heaven and prayed: 'Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.'" (John 17:1, italics mine)
The Father's completed glorification of the Son—His resurrection, ascension, and placement at God's right hand—came after the completion of the Son's glorification of the Father through
unadulterated oneness,
total submission,
even the cruelest of deaths on a sinner's cross.
But go back and really consider John 17:1 a moment more. Even in the anticipation of His own glorification, still, Jesus' overwhelming desire was that His Father be glorified. It's as if Jesus prays, I desire to glorify You, Father, and because of this, I know You will glorify Me; but even in Your glorification of Me, my prayer is that it will ultimately glorify You.
Undoubtedly, with radical pervasiveness, the Father's eternal glory consumed Jesus' temporary, earthly life. Every day. No matter the inconveniences, hardships, sacrifices, or suffering.
Reading through the Gospels will certainly testify that, regardless of the cost to Himself, the glorification of the Father, evidenced in Jesus' daily life, mattered most to Christ in His earthly experience and mission. The glorification of His Father was His continual mindset.
And what did the glory of the Father look like in the Savior's everyday life as He walked and lived among men? How specifically was God's glory displayed through this surrendered Son?
It was evidenced in the humility, kindness, mercy, grace, and goodness from which Jesus continually operated.
It was evidenced in His daily giving of Himself, motivated by abounding love, for the good—earthly and eternal—of mankind, wherever He was.
It was evidenced in His intentional, habitual oneness with the Father.
It was evidenced in His reverent submission and sacrificial obedience to His Father's will and words, as He resolutely remained connected to Him, as He intentionally set aside the demands and distractions of life to linger alone in His Father's presence.
It was evidenced in His unyielding resolve that His sacrifice and suffering were God’s requirements for the well-being of others, ultimately, for the salvation and sanctification of lost humanity.
Just read through the Gospels, and you will see detailed examples of each of these evidences, and more, in how Jesus moved through life, engaged with people, and surrendered to His Father’s perfect plan.
Right now, as I sit and type these words, I'm confronted with some hard questions:
Am I really always motivated by the Father's glory in my personal journey?
Is it my genuine desire to bring Him glory every day, throughout the myriad of moments that make up my days?
Do I want to operate at all times according to His Word, and ways, and indwelling voice, which lead to His glory being revealed in me?
Or, do I desire to bring Him glory, of course, but just on my own time, on my own terms, in ways I believe I need or prefer?
Can I honestly say that I'm more concerned about a consuming—yes, even radical—pervasiveness of God's glory in my own life than I am earthly comfort, contentment, and temporary gain?
So difficult, yet so pressing and necessary, are these confrontational questions I can't escape from asking myself in this contemplative moment.
Fellow sojourner, if we want to truly live our earthly life like our Lord lived His—which should be our aim for this one life we've been gifted—then you and I, every single day, must confront ourselves with this question:
Your eternal glory, good Father, or my temporary, earthly gain?
Yes, a hard question to ask and a harder one to honestly answer. But I believe it's the necessary question, the warp and woof query of this crucial hour on Earth's clicking clock, of whether we genuinely desire—or really don't—to daily live as a surrendered disciple in authentic engagement with the person of Christ and the Gospel's proclamation, or merely a saved, self-consumed Christian on his or her way to Heaven.
One final thought: When we truly live with His eternal glory as our surrendered heart's motive—no matter the harsh, challenging circumstances we will find ourselves in one way or another at one time or another, on this fallen side of Heaven—the gains He rewardingly gifts in the temporal here and now equate to richer fellowship, deeper faith, unhindered worship, increased favor, renewed joy, and greater impact for His eternal Kingdom.
What disciple of Jesus wouldn't want such?
However, if the answer to the confrontational question stated earlier is an honest "no," even though you want it to be a settled "yes," start praying today that the Holy Spirit will begin His work to make the Father's glory a daily reality in you and through you.
Then—and this is everything—get into the habit of submissively yielding yourself to the Holy Spirit's daily communications, as you get quiet with Him. In other words, obey. Obey God’s Word, and do what the Spirit is counseling you to do.
And watch, watch, as the Father begins manifesting His eternal glory within your earthly life.
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