Glory without end. Amen.

Here's another thing that has kept me from the blog this summer: North Carolina and its stunning Blue Ridge Mountains and its residents, namely, our daughter Anne and her husband Owen. And yes, this is an actual sunset I saw from the deck of their home. Yes, this is their view every day. Yes, I am jealous.

However, I really posted this photo because I want to finish our June discussion of God's glory, and this seemed to capture that thought for me. As we look at what Jesus prayed at the Last Supper, in John 17, we see the word "glory" over and over again: the glory of God, the glory in Christ's death for us, the glory his disciples saw in his life, the glory in our unity as believers, and also the glory that we will realize when he returns. "Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world." (John 17:24) Indeed, one day we will see him "coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory." (Matthew 24:30).

I know this is nothing new for us; it's something we've come to expect. But do we look to that day with high excitement? Jerram Barrs describes this glory like this: "It is the glory of his power and majesty as the Designer and Creator of this vast and magnificent universe. It is the glory of the One who was immediately worshiped and adored by the multitude of angels and the great host of heaven when he called them into existence. This is the glory of his eternal being." (The Heart of Prayer, p. 167)

These sunsets and mountains of ours are a mere foretaste of that day. Imagine the trumpet sound. Imagine the brightness of the clouds. Imagine seeing your Savior for the first time. That will be glory. Without end.

Yes, Lord Jesus, come.