John 17:24

These words are the apex of Jesus’ high-priestly prayer spoken just hours before He was arrested in the garden of Gethsemane. They disclose the heart of Jesus for all of us who have trusted in His name. More than anything else, Jesus wants us to behold and enjoy His glory. It is what we were made for. It is God’s great purpose for everything.

There are many reasons why we may have initially come to Jesus. We may have come because of the many benefits of salvation: heaven instead of hell, pearly gates, golden streets, or seeing grandma again. Or perhaps we were weighed down by the guilt of our own sin, and chose Jesus out of a healthy fear of hell. One of the motives behind my own decision at the age of five or six was just a desire to please my parents.

But as we come to know the Bible and mature in Christ, we come to see how beautiful and compellingly glorious He is—and how unworthy we are. We come to treasure Jesus more than any other thing in the world. We begin to see Him as infinitely valuable, worthy of our love, deserving the highest praise, and our deepest sacrifice. Acting upon this realization is what it means to store up treasure in heaven.

When we see Jesus face to face in all His glory, and the prayer of Jesus is finally answered, the heavens will resound with the joyful praises of His bride. Let us live today in light of this future glory.

Tom Day