A Little More on Vision...

Fridays with Susan...

Further to Belinda's post of yesterday... 

When Jesus took Peter, and James and John up on the mountain where they saw him transfigured with Moses and Elijah, Peter and the others thought this was "IT!"  They wanted to stay there and build three temples,  one for Moses, one for Elijah and one for Jesus.  But instead, Jesus led them down the mountain again and into the valley - the valley of the shadow...

From that glorious vision of "Truth" glorified, they went straight down into the valley.  Not just to "the valley", but they were actually headed to Jerusalem - and to the cross.  On the way, having just seen that glorious vision, Peter and James and John made one mistake after another - from arguing about who was the greatest among them to being unable to set free one who was troubled by demons, to even denying Jesus, once, twice, three times.  And though Jesus had been revealed to them in his glorified form, instead of referring to that vision, he talked to them about his coming suffering and death.

Jesus gave them the vision, but it was only skin deep up there on the mountain... It really meant nothing at all until they had been to the valley where it was worked right into them through the tough things they experienced there.
 
This is deep truth and a journey not for the faint of heart.   To be invited on this journey, Jesus must trust us to be able to endure the difficulties - to learn deeply through the hard lessons - and to come through the other side.  Having been through the valley with him, we will no longer be seeing the glory as a vision, but knowing it and experiencing it as an integral part of who we are - of who we have now become.  It's what Jesus was referring to, I think, in his prayer of John 17 when he said, "I have given them the glory that you have given me..."  This is the process by which he gives us his glory - how it is that his glory is able to shine through these earthen vessels that we are to be seen and felt by those around us.  First he gives us the vision, and then he takes us into the valley where he works it into who we are.  Only then do we really "get it".  Only then can we really share who he is and what he has given to us with others.  Thank God for his comfort, and for his promise:

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.  For thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff (his discipline!), they comfort me.  Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over.  Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord - forever."   Psalm 23

Comments

Belinda said…
This was so encouraging Susan. Thanks for reinforcing that the pattern is a good one. I loved this twin post.
11:06 PM
Angcat said…
Dear Susan,

You don't know how appropriate this is to wrap up our past two weeks (and three years) with Nicky. Wow!
It has been in those desperate and difficult places that He has revealed Himself to us and where our foundation is being made secure.

I would love to build a house with Him on the mountain and stay there, but it has been through the valley of the shadow of death that we have known Him walking with us.

I could go on and on, so much more to share, but yes and amen will suffice.

God bless you sister
7:46 AM
Marilyn said…
I want to yes and amen this as well. And I, too, enjoyed these 'twin' posts. Very encouraging reminder!
8:43 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Voyage

Image
Note from Belinda: I read this prayer yesterday and again today--and then I read it to Susan after cell group, when we were having our "second cup" of decaff coffee together. I knew that she'd love it. She has a framed picture on her office wall of a little blond haired girl in a sail boat on a stormy sea. A fatherly sailor,with a weather beaten face; in a gray sou'wester, holds her close, as he capably mans the tiller. This prayer reminds me of that picture and influenced what I wrote earlier today, when I used the metaphor of ebbing waves to describe a lack of consistency and my desire to crash over the sandbar into the peaceful pool on the other side.  ( Susan sent me a link to the painting, which was done by American impressionist Robert Reid in 1888.  It hangs in the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in NYC.) Be bless ed by the beauty of this prayer. OH LORD OF THE OCEANS, My little bark sails on a restless sea, Grant that Jesus may sit at the ...
Read more

Samson Beaver and his Family

Image
I first posted this in 2009, a little show and tell about one of my favourite photographs. Back then it hung on a wall, but now it's in my bathroom where I see it every morning! I'd forgotten the history behind the story, researched when I first posted this and thought that current readers might enjoy it--a story from a time when this land was still being discovered, not so very long ago. This photograph was taken by Mary Schaffer; artist, photographer, writer and naturalist, in 1907. It is of a Stoney Indian named Samson Beaver, with his wife Leah and daughter, Frances Louise. I bought the photo on a postcard, on a trip to British Columbia and it hangs framed, on the wall I face when sitting at my laptop. I love it. Don't you just feel as if you could gather Frances Louise up in your arms and cuddle her? I get a deep sense of peace and happiness when I look at this family, sitting in the grass of a long ago fall. They are dressed in their best, beautiful c...
Read more

Ere Zij God--Glory to God in the Highest! A Dutch Carol

Image
By Belinda This beautiful Dutch carol was shared today by a friend of Dutch ancestry, on Facebook. I had never heard it before but absolutely loved it. It moved me deeply, especially at the end after the crowd leaves the church and then breaks into spontaneous singing again around a brazier, with the sound of chiming church bells in the background. Listen to it with headphones or a good speaker to get the full effect of the harmonies. And happy first Sunday in Advent!
Read more