From Glory to Glory

A Scripture song taken from II Corinthians 3:18 goes, “From glory to glory He’s changing me, changing me, changing me; His likeness and image to perfect in me, the love of God shown to the world.”  A great joy of being in Christ is seeing our life change from the glory of self to the glory of the image of God.  This is grace at work.  In Genesis 38 we take an interlude from the account of Joseph to deal with his brother Judah.  Judah played a big role in selling Joseph as a slave.  He has a big role yet to come later in Genesis.  The transformation that takes place in Judah has its roots in Genesis 38.

In Genesis 38 we find Judah and his wife having three sons.  He then took a wife for his oldest son, but his oldest son died.  The wife passed to the second son, but he also died.  Judah promised her to his third son, but had no intention of keeping that promise.  Then Judah’s wife died and Judah went and took the services of a harlot.  Seeing that Judah had lied to her about giving her his third son, Judah’s daughter-in-law played the harlot with Judah (though she was in disguise) so that she might get a child.  Judah found out about her harlotry, but not that he was the participant, and ordered her to be killed.  As she was being tied to the stake for burning she produced for Judah the token he had given to the harlot as pre-payment.  Judah was suddenly convicted of his own sinfulness and repented.  He turned his life, step by step, over to God.

Later in Genesis 44 Judah proves up the character of his new life when he offers himself as a slave to stay in Egypt so that his younger brother Benjamin does not have to take on that position.  Joseph sees the wonderful change in his brother’s life and then welcomes his whole family to the physical salvation of Egypt.  From the glory of self to the glory of Christ likeness, Judah had been changed.

It is the grace of God that we don’t always have to be what we ever were.  The beginning of our story does not have to be the end.  The failures and disappointments do not have to be our constant defining condition.  “From glory to glory He’s changing me.”  The grace of God will be at work in His children to change them into the image of His glory.  Praise God for grace that works out our salvation in Christ each day.  Seek to sing with Charles Gabriel, “More like the Master, I would ever be, more of His meekness, more humility; more zeal to labor, more courage to be true, more consecration for work He bids me do.”  

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