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Choose to Radiate Glory (Die).


Atlanta has been exploding with colors over the last few weeks. The leaves are absolutely astounding - crimson, yellow, and fiery orange. I have really appreciated the beauty this year and realized how much this landscape screams of the glory of God.

There is much irony in the fact that leaves are the most beautiful when they are dying. I see an obvious paradox in the God-breathed and God-glorifying death of the leaves and the concept of dying to self as a believer. Jesus said in Luke 9:23: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." We glorify God the most (elevate Him; praise Him, draw attention to Him) when we say no to our selfish desires, "dying" to our flesh and yielding to God's best for us. We glorify and radiate Him when we die to our desire to be great/famous/popular, to our sinful desires, to our desires to control our own lives. When we die to the idea of making ourselves the leader of our lives and instead let our Father be our Lord, we are beautiful and radiate His glory.

Death sounds so painful and dark, but truthfully - in the leaves and in our daily lives - it's the most beautiful, most perfect state in which we can exist. May the leaves out your window serve as a reminder to you today to glorify God by choosing to die to selfishness or anything that is trying to wedge its way between you and your Holy Father.

Comments

  1. AndrewNovember 19, 2010 at 12:45 PM

    Wow, thank you for the reminder. The comparison has always been a beautiful one, and it's quite true that when we die to ourselves we glorify God.

    I love it.

    Best,
    Andrew

    ReplyDelete
  2. Steve JacksonNovember 19, 2010 at 3:23 PM

    Leigh,
    Yes - great analogy. You are such a great writer and analyst of the world around us. Dying to some things can certainly be a beautiful thing!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Leigh HarperNovember 19, 2010 at 3:28 PM

    Thanks for the comments, Andrew and Dad. Glad this concept resonates with you.

    ReplyDelete

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