Claiming the Promises (2)

“Nevertheless He did not leave Himself without witness, in that He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.” Acts 14.17

For the earth will be filled
With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD,
As the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2.14

Docents of glory
I used to have a friend who volunteered as a docent at the Baltimore Museum of Art. His job was to help visitors to the museum understand the beauty and appreciate the value of the museum’s considerable collection.

To fulfill this calling, he had to study the various artists and their works, as well as the characteristics of various genre, schools, and eras of art. Many people who visit an art museum have only the vaguest idea of what they’re seeing. To have a docent available, such as my friend, can help to make one’s visit more enjoyable and enriching.

Similarly, the Apostle Paul served as a docent to the pagan people of Lystra. He debunked their false ideas about religion and gods, and showed instead the evidence of God’s goodness and love, as seen in the creation and its fecundity, and in their work and culture. It’s probably the case these unbelieving people were not thinking about God as they toiled away under the hot sun or nurtured themselves with the fruits of their labors. God was glorifying Himself in their work, and through His creation; they, however, blind to His presence and ignorant of His promise, wrongly attributed His largesse to false deities and their own industry.

But Paul knew the larger story. He understood that God was in all this goodness, leaving a witness to Himself, so that men might know, seek, and serve Him (cf. Rom. 1.18-21; Acts 17.27). In the same way, we who know that God’s glory is everywhere being revealed are called to explain what God has shown, so that His glory might be known through all our spheres of influence.

Docents all
In this respect, we have all been called to be docents of the glory of God. The goodness of God, His kindness, bounty, wisdom, beauty, compassion, generosity, and power, are being revealed continually in the things He has made, and in aspects of human culture and society (Ps. 19.1-4; Ps. 68.18, cf. Eph. 4.8; Rom. 13.1-4). God sustains the earth and causes it to flourish (Ps. 104). He gives good gifts of culture, law, manners, and the like to men (Jms. 1.17). And He is in all these things, showing Himself and His will, wooing and calling people to discern, seek, and know Him.

We who are His royal children have the high calling of glorifying God in all things (1 Cor. 10.31). This means we must discover the ways God is manifesting His glory throughout our Personal Mission Fields, and, like Paul, make a point of making that glory known as often as we may (cf. Prov. 25.1, 2).

Consider Paul’s work in this regard: He saw a witness of God in the agricultural work of the people of Lystra – the wonder of crop growth, the protocols of sowing and reaping, the implements used in such work, the strength of the people, the bounty of their harvest, and the various ways they prepared their meals. No doubt Paul elaborated on such matters more than what Luke records for us, as he explained to the people of Lystra that God, not pagan deities and not their own wits or strength, was the source of all good things. From the declaration of God’s goodness in creation and culture, it was only a small step for Paul to show how God, in His infinite goodness and love, had provided a Savior for lost people everywhere.

Get ready
Just so, as we live toward the promises of God, and claim those promises as our own, we discern, discover, contemplate, and respond to the glory which God is revealing in every area of our lives. His glory is being shown throughout our Personal Mission Fields. Our task is to discern His glory and then to make His glory known by as many means as we can.

Part of our preparation for claiming the promises each day must be to anticipate the ways we might expect to encounter the glory of God. As you pray about the day ahead – the people you will see, the places you’ll go, the work you will do – ask the Lord to give you discernment, and to prepare you to recognize His goodness and glory in every situation, so that you might be ready to bring His glory to light for those to whom He sends you each day.

In C. S. Lewis’ classic tale, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the land of Narnia languished under a perpetual winter – frozen, fearful, and fruitless – until the rule of King Aslan was established, bringing light and life to all. Our world is clapped in the wintry chains of materialism, rationalism, and narcissism, groaning and travailing under the burden of mankind’s unbelief (Rom. 8.19-22). We are the liberators of the world – docents of glory, who bring the warmth of Jesus’ rule of light and life into every area of life, as we study the works of God in all creation and culture, lay hold of the blessings He intends in these, and make Him and His blessings and glory known to the people around us.

For reflection
1.  How many ways can you discern the glory of God in the people and culture of your Personal Mission Field?

2.  What are some ways you might better prepare yourself to fulfill your calling as a docent of glory?

3.   Suggest some ways you might practice your calling as a docent of glory with the people to whom God sends you each day.

Next steps – Conversation: What do you anticipate of God’s glory for the day ahead? For whom might you serve as a docent of glory? How will you initiate the conversation in which you will seek to fulfill this calling?

T. M. Moore

This is part 4 of a 5-part series, Living toward the Promises. You can download this week’s study as a free PDF, suitable for personal or group use, by clicking here. You can learn more about living toward the promises of God by ordering a copy of the book, I Will Be Your God, from our online store (click here).

We invite you to register for the free online course, One in Twelve: Introduction to Christian Worldview. In this course we provide a sweeping panorama of how life in the Kingdom of God unfolds in an age in flight from God such as ours. Set your own schedule and study at your own pace. Learn more, and register for One in Twelve, by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.