Daily Devotions
“They suffer with their Lord below, they reign with Him above, Their profit and their joy to know the myst’ry of His love.
“The cross He bore is life and death, though shame and death to Him: His people’s hope, His people’s wealth, their everlasting theme.”
Many tourist destinations have an area designated as a scenic overlook, a place where travelers can pull over, get out of their cars and admire the view. The overlook allows a wide view of God’s beautiful creation, of lakes and forests, or deep canyons with rivers and waterfalls. As the travelers continue along the road they arrive at that scenic area, but this time at ground level. The sight is still beautiful, but the view may be marred by crowded parking lots, souvenir shops, and overflowing trash cans. It is the same landscape viewed from a very different and less attractive vantage point.
Christians “suffer with their Lord below” and, at the same time, “they reign with Him above.” These statements about suffering below and reigning in heaven describe our life in Christ from two different perspectives, above and below, in heaven and on earth. God saved us by grace “and raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6). In Baptism we die with Jesus, and we are raised to reign with Him as sons and daughters of our King. Seen from the mysterious and eternal vantage point of heaven, we live and reign, right now, with Jesus. His victory over death is our victory, and we are clothed in His righteousness. Yet even though we reign with Jesus, for now we see things from our earthly point of view, and it is not always pretty. We suffer with our Lord below. As followers of Jesus, we may be ridiculed for our beliefs. In this earthly life we still struggle against sin and endure sorrow and pain.
The full, eternal glory of our new life in Christ is hidden for now; although the joy of that life shines in us as God works through our words of witness and works of love and service. On the day Jesus comes back, we will fully experience the glory that Jesus won for us through His death and resurrection. In Baptism we died with Christ, and we were raised to reign with Him. But for now, as the apostle Paul writes, that glorious life is “hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:3b-4). On that great day, we will be raised to life, and we will see ourselves as God has always seen us, shining in the reflected glory of Jesus’ victory.
WE PRAY: Lord Jesus, You are my life, my hope, and my eternal joy. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler. It is based on the hymn, “The Head That Once Was Crowned with Thorns,” which is number 532 in the Lutheran Service Book.
Reflection Questions:
1. Have you ever visited some place and it turned out better than you expected?
2. What do you think the “heavenly places in Christ Jesus” will be like?
3. How has Jesus’ victory of death become our victory?