That Will Be Glory

To live above

with the saints we love --

oh, that will be glory!

To live below

with the saints we know --

now that's a different story!

author unknown

These days I am remembering that God's people are just that -- people.  If we are followers of Christ, we are growing into His likeness (2 Corinthians 3:18) and when we see Him face to face we will be complete.  But until that day comes, we live in these mortal bodies with our unique personalities, our gifts and talents not yet fully understood or developed, and many rough edges (possibly even a few sharp edges).  The most sincere among us, the one most desiring godliness, still has a long way to go to be all God designed him or her to be.

We are lopsided, with inadequacies and areas of arrested development, not fully understanding our own issues, much less those of the other guy.  This calls for great patience on the part of all of us.  But this is our life, and we have God's grace to help us through.

The really good part is that in Heaven we will finally be all that God intended for us to be.  No more frailties; no more glaring flaws we didn't even know we had.  Where one person has mistaken his gift of leadership for bossiness, he will be the leader God designed him to be.  For the one who fell short of her potential because of some unresolved fear, she will shine!

I am so looking forward to seeing who I really am when I am in God's very presence.  ButI equally await seeing all the "saints below" as the people God made them to be. I look forward to getting to know them in their fullness, just as God sees them through Christ.  That will be glory.