As Jesus neared the end of His time on earth, He made a statement recorded by John…

John 12:23  And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.

 

Jesus’ disciples were routinely, blissfully ignorant of the rapidly-approaching end to Jesus’ life, but He nevertheless made numerous references to it. Now that He is in Jerusalem—not to leave until He leaves the tomb—the Lord will talk about it almost exclusively from chapter 12-16. After that He will pray, and then be arrested and killed.

Here Jesus says the hour is fast approaching when He will be glorified. That glorifying will take place when He ascends into Heaven. In order for that to happen, however, He must first suffer horribly on the cross.

In other words, Jesus describes what is about to happen to Him, not in terms of the torture and torment He is soon to face, but instead of the ultimate reward that will come after it. That’s a lesson for Christians to learn: Focus on the eternal reward later, not the temporary suffering now.

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Romans 8:18

Too often we let the expectation of hardship keep us from serving. Others serve but, upon the first sign of hardship, they abandon their post. Learn from the Master: He knew what He was going to face–and it was far worse than anything we ever will experience–but He didn’t run from it. He embraced it, because He knew the glory that was to come after.

“Perspective” is all I’m saying.