October 06, 2017
What We Need Most
by Kevin DeYoung
The biggest need in your life, and in mine, is to see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
I’m convinced that more evangelism, more prayer, more fruitfulness, more holiness will flow from the fountain of our lives only when we start drinking more deeply of Christ.
* If you want to be more merciful, look upon Jesus who cried out at the cross, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
* If you want to be more loving, look upon Jesus who ate with sinners and welcomed repentant prostitutes and tax collectors into the kingdom.
* If you want to be purer, look upon Jesus whose eyes are like flames of fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.
* If you want more courage in the face of lies and injustice, look upon Jesus who drove out the money changers from the temple with a whip.
* If you want to be stronger in the midst of suffering, look upon Jesus who did not revile when reviled and submitted himself wholly to the will of his Father.
* If you want to grow in grace, look upon Jesus who reinstated Peter after he denied his Lord three times.
* If you want more tenderness in your life, look upon Jesus who took the little children upon His lap and blessed them.
* If you want to display the diverse excellencies of God, look upon Jesus who came from the Father full of grace and truth.
Our main problem is not lack of time or resources or the annoying people in our lives. Your main problem and my main problem is that we do not see enough the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We are not amazed. We do not stand in awe. We are not rendered speechless in His presence.
Too many of us are toying around with gimmicks and looking for quick fixes and miracle cures. Too many of us are digging deep inside ourselves for the change we want. Too many of us spend all our time tinkering with sports and the internet and home repairs while neglecting the one thing that is most needful – to sit at the feet of Jesus, to see Him in the preaching of the Word, to gaze upon Him in the Scriptures, to slowly meditate upon the pages of the Bible, to spend uninterrupted, unhurried time with the Lord. This is what we need.
Let us plead with God that we might behold His glory in the face of Jesus Christ. Implore Him for eyes to see. Pray persistently and passionately to know Him more.
Because there is no growing apart from gazing, and no becoming like Christ without beholding Him in His glory.
About the Author
Kevin DeYoung
Senior Pastor
Christ Covenant Church
Kevin DeYoung is the senior pastor at Christ Covenant Church in Matthews, North Carolina. He is chairman of the board of The Gospel Coalition, assistant professor of systematic theology at Reformed Theological Seminary (Charlotte), and a PhD candidate at the University of Leicester. Kevin and his wife, Trisha, have seven children.
