Meditations on the Glory of Christ

Genesis 15

“I am your shield.” I can think of many experiences where it was clear that the Lord had been my shield. Should I tell about being lost in Mombasa and not knowing how to return to my hotel. How about the night we hit black ice on I-70 in Indiana? Should I tell about the night we spent in a motel on I-5 near Sacramento. Later I found out that it was a drug dealer infested area. Maybe I should write about one the wild experiences that I had during the hours from 2-6 a.m. delivering The Wall Street Journal in downtown Portland, Oregon. What about the long bus ride from Oklahoma City to Philadelphia and back. I’ll never do that with a family again. On a few occasions I have ministered to people who were hooked on crack. Shall I speak of entering their neighborhoods? I would have done none of these voluntarily; except, I know that He is my shield.

“Your exceedingly great reward.” What would be an exceedingly great reward for you? Maybe it would be hitting the jackpot at one of our now numerous casinos or the state lottery. For those of you who are of a more lofty mind, maybe it would be winning the Nobel Peace Prize. What we often think are great rewards turn out to be great punishments.

Five months after moving to Portland, Oregon to attend seminary, I found myself unemployed and penniless. Listening to a local Christian radio station, we found ourselves to be the winners of one of their contests. It was an album of some Christian classical guitarist. The only catch was we had to drive to the station to claim our reward. The station was located on the top of one of Portland’s tallest peaks. We drove to claim our reward. The last 100 yards of the road to the station was not paved. The road was very rough, and at one point the oil pan of our engine scraped over some tough bed rock. The next morning I found oil all under my vehicle. All of the oil had leaked out onto the street. My reward ended up costing me $50.00 to repair the oil pan, $50.00 that I did not have and had I had it, I would like to have used it elsewhere.

After delivering Lot, turning down the booty that was rightfully his and tithing to the Lord, then the LORD appears to Abram. Abram has learned already that the Lord is God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth. At this point the LORD reveals Himself to Abram as his ‘shield, His exceedingly great reward.’ Having established this, the Lord now vows to him again and makes His unconditional covenant with him. Abram does not need great reward. He does not need a great shield, neither do we need one. He alone is our shield and exceedingly great reward. That is the nature of His glory. Indeed we serve a glorious King. Speak His glory to someone today!