This Advent we are preaching from Revelation 2-3 and focusing on the Glory of the Son of Man. As I introduced it last week, we have a problem with “lessor glories”: they mean too much to us. A “lessor glory” isn’t necessarily a bad thing; it is simply some created thing that captures our affections and hopes: a relationship, a possession, a position or a reputation we’ve earned. There are many things to love in this world, for sure. But to glory in them, that is, to adore them, to be lost without them leads to a boring life of lessor glories.
Lessor glories are boring. How do we know? We keep accumulating them. We are never satisfied with lessor glories so we work hard to get more and more of them: more stuff, more money, more position, more clicks or likes and so on. We can’t help it. On the one hand, we are made in God’s image and He seeks personal glory and so we each have our own versions of that. But on the other, lessor glories are like cheese popcorn or soda: they don’t really fill but they give enough temporary joy that we seek more of the same. (Once we get over the punch to the stomach, that is.)
Admit it: this is all so boring and tedious. When we take our eyes off that which is lasting forever and greater than self we are caught up in the pursuit of lessor glories. Every time we attain to one, we enjoy it for a moment, its luster wears off and we’re out the door after another. Every life devoted to lessor glories is a boring life and those who live it, know it. There is only one antidote to the boring life of lessor glories: a sustained reflection on the unsurpassed glory of the Son of Man.
By God’s providence, Christmastime gives us a perfect opportunity to meditate on the Son of Man. Listen to how John sees Him in Revelation:
Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
In the subsequent letters to the seven churches (Revelation 2-3), the Lord reminds each church of an aspect of His glory that is directly relevant to their circumstances. Roll all of these up and we have a lifetime of imagery to unpack all of which will assist us in having a right view of lessor glories: we see them only in the shadow of the Son’s glory. A right view of lessor glories is also a hedge against a boring life.
Bent World 