John 12:36b-43
Why did some of the
leaders of the people refrain from opening confessing their faith in Jesus?
According to John’s gospel it was because “…they loved human glory more than
the glory that comes from God” (John 12:43). This is a sad commentary but it is
one that deserves careful consideration in our daily living, for we, too, run
the risk of being swayed by our own need for approval or even praise. I think
of dogs in particular who can be trained to act in certain ways with the use of
praise. Human beings are a ways up the ladder from dogs, of course, but we
sometimes find ourselves responding to the same forms of motivation.
God offers a form of glory
that is not easy to appreciate in purely human terms. For one thing it calls
for patience and hope because God’s glory does not come in the form of instant
gratification. For another thing God’s glory is impossible for us to
manipulate. By saying certain things or excelling in certain activities, humans
can attract significant adulation. God cannot be swayed and certainly cannot be
fooled by what we do or who we say we are.
Given the choice between
human glory and the glory that comes from God, many will be led astray and
choose what they can see and feel in the present life while disregarding the
promises of the life of come. Even those who come to recognize the truth in
Jesus may fall away when faced with the challenges of discipleship as opposed
to what the world offers as normative. The choice is there to be made. Whose
glory do we choose?
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