Numbers: A World Wired for Glory

The world is wired for glory. Yet sin with all its glory-defacing side effects has all but trashed God’s good creation. Thankfully Jesus, the True Radiance of Glory, is making something beautiful out of the ash and trash.

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“But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord” (Num. 14:21).

In Moses’ day, just as in ours, there were rebels who despised God’s Word. They disbelieved God; they didn’t listen to the Lord. So God wiped out that entire generation, except Joshua and Caleb. And he raised up another generation, one that would fear him and walk in his ways. And God has been raising up faithful generations ever since—people who would faithfully follow the Lord, forsaking the whims of the world and giving glory to God.

Fast forward to Peter’s day in the book of Acts. On the Day of Pentecost, the lead apostle—having walked and talked with the crucified and risen Lord Jesus—preached a heck of a sermon. In Peter’s exhortation he called his listeners to “save yourselves from this crooked generation” (Acts 2:40). Thousands responded. They followed the Lord of glory; they forsook the lesser glories of this world for something—Someone—truly glorious.

Two thousand years later, from sea to shining sea, in every conceivable corner of the globe, God is still filling the earth with his glory. Christ the Conquering King is leading a triumphant march all across the globe. In every nation men and women, young and old, are turning to Jesus. A whole host of “little new creations” are popping up all over the planet.

The King is on the move. And no opposing Glory Thief can halt his advance (Matt. 16:18).

Do you want to hear more stories of how Christ is advancing his kingdom to the ends of the earth? My new book, Jesus in Beijing: A Missionary Memoir of Christ’s Victory in China, is available here.