Uncommon Radiance

I was meditating in Hebrews this morning and read the familiar phrase from chapter 1 verse 3: "He is the radiance of His glory". Christ, the Son, is the radiance of God the Father's glory and "the exact representation of His nature", now seated at the right hand.

I've pictured this before, but imagine with me for a moment, Christ, the Son, seated on the throne, next to the Father, radiant in white, crowned in majesty, with all off heaven and earth bowed before Him and singing His praise. The angels are saying "Worthy is the Lamb" and heavenly creatures chant "Holy, holy holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come" without ceasing. We've read these pictures of heaven throughout scripture that paint a scene of awe and mystery. John adds in his epistle "We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is." (1 John 3:2)

We will be like Him. Imagine yourself back in that throne room, but look down at yourself. You stand, unable to move in the glory of His presence, clothed in His righteousness, emboldened by His mercy and grace. The sight that no human eyes can see without dying is before you, but you are not as you are now. You are like Him. Radiant. While Christ represents the very nature of God, we represent Christ the Son. We are sons and daughters, heirs to the eternal kingdom and we stand in His presence glorified with the Son. Paul tells us in Romans 8 (29-30) that we are being conformed into the image of His Son - that Son who is the radiance of His glory. Look down and see your radiance! Not the brilliant white robe of His righteousness, but inside your heart and mind. The doubts and fears and anxieties are finally gone for good. The question of whether or not you are truly accepted, now eternally answered. The perpetual wrestling with sin and our fallen nature has ceased. The darkest sorrows of your heart and the deepest wounds now forever healed. The radiance is not from without, but from within. Holy. Sanctified. Glorified. Radiant.

I've always viewed sanctification as a painful process in which my sins are exposed and my idols are crushed. True, I know this is the necessary discipline of a loving Father bringing me closer and closer to His best for me. And yet - it hurts. Thankfully, we usually only address one area at a time and just as I see one stubborn area of my heart soften, another hardened portion is revealed. And so it goes, on and on, until that throne room. Right? Sort of.

What I have failed to grasp so many times is that God does not leave His work void. The empty places where sin and doubt and fear once reigned are not simply empty. They are filled with His Spirit. That work that Paul tells us will be completed is an ongoing process, but not a simple excavation of our greed and lust and anger. Those areas that once brought pain are being filled to bring peace, and patience and joy and love. That "peaceful fruit of righteousness" is replacing those previous settings of darkness and fear. That means, in a "no longer - but not yet" way, we are being filled with that same radiance. Here. Now.

We can only imagine what it will actually be like to see Him face to face. But we need not imagine what God is doing in us now. If we take a moment and contemplate all He has done in our lives, that radiance will begin to reveal itself. We won't just move from sin to sin, but we will experience that healing work in the here and now.

I always experience a little of the "post-holiday blues" after Christmas is over and the New Year has begun. My jeans are usually a little tighter and I have a hard time knowing what day it is after a week of vacation. The list of reality lays before me and seems longer than I remembered. If I'm honest, I really want to just hibernate the next few months in sweatpants and a couple good books.

But I am not relying on my own strength and I am not just looking at another list of dark places God will need to address in the coming year.

I am radiant. And so are you.