Dear BPCWA worshipper, By God’s providence, we begin a new book of study this Lord’s Day, after having studied the book of 1 Samuel over the past years. As November also draws to a close, spring will soon be officially over as the hot days we have experienced over the past 2 weeks signalled the coming summer. These changes should remind us of the passage we studied at our fellowship meetings on 1 Peter, “For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away” (1Pe 1:24).

The transient beauty of flowers. I still remember the start of spring, with its crisp, cool air. With it, wildflower season started. Even without going out into the countryside, we must have seen, whether by the freeways or in our parks, the blooming flowers dancing in the breeze, almost like they were calling out for your attention. By God’s providence, the first time I visited BPCWA was in the summer. Perth was arid and dry, and I assumed that the native bush was without any flowers. It was to my surprise, after God had called me here, that I realised Perth did have flowers. Of course it would, though largely in spring. Presently, as we move into summer, most of the spring flowers have faded or fallen off, but jacarandas are blooming. Yet even so, we already see many of the jacaranda trees covered mainly with leaves, as the flowers lie on the ground beneath them. Up to last year, there was the bloom of a lone calla lily, which displayed itself briefly from the flower bed outside our church in spring. Did you notice that? Flowers are very beautiful and captivating.  However, they last but for a short period – often not even for a whole season!

The passing glory of man. The transient beauty of flowers, as we move out of spring, must remind us of 1 Peter 1:24. Knowing the beauty of flowers, Christ, the Creator, also bids us, “consider the lilies of the field” (Mat 6:28) which “even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these” (Mat 6:29). The point is that all the majesty and commanding displays of a powerful, rich, famously admired, and extremely wise king are yet incomparable to the simple flowers we see growing in abundance in field! Despite how we admire man’s glory, the reality is that God compares it only to “the flower of grass” (1Pe 1:24), a very unimpressive sight, something that we may not even take a 2^nd glance at. Moreover, there is a stronger emphasis in this latter passage on the fleeting nature of man’s glory. Let us learn to see man’s glory from God’s perspective.

The passing glory that man seeks. That “glory” that we seek is simply whatever appeals to the sinful flesh. It may be the glory of position, fame (aka name), and power that some may seek. We want to be known for having been that person who was esteemed by others because they held, for a (short) time, a certain title during their lifetime that influenced others or had authority over others. Some seek the glory of looks and beauty, which can be even more transient than that of power. This is a key problem today, where many want to be admired for their physique, looks, or dressing. Others may seek the glory of achievements, to have under their hats the repute of being the “first” to have done something, or to have accomplished multiple things which are not commonplace. Some seek the glory of possessions and wealth. They are driven to own the unusual and the rare. Or to be looked up to simply because they are very rich. It pleases them when others jump to please their smallest whims. Ultimately, what drives people to do this is their pride and ego. It is to promote the glory of the self in pride. They want others to notice, observe, and remember them or their names. Yet, none of these last. Even powerful nations lose their power in time according to God’s design. In a verse not often captured in hymnals, Isaac Watts’s hymn rightly pens this thought of the fading glories of great nations, “Like flow’ry fields the nations stand, Pleased with the morning light; The flow’rs beneath the mower’s hand, Lie with’ring ere ’tis night”.

Don’t strive for your own glory. Which brings us to the memory of King Saul. He held the position of being the 1^st king of Israel and reigned for 40 years, no short span of time. However, it is still short. And in this short span of time of his reign, it was spent fighting to retain his glory. The result, as we now know, was that he ended his life not only bereft of the glory he sought for himself, but in poignant shame. Therein lies the foolishness of a man and his pride. It drives us to do and fight for things which, even if not ending as tragically as Saul, amount to nothing in the end. Pride only makes us feel good about ourselves during that short span of time. In fact, as in Saul’s case, pride made him remarkably foolish to those witnessing his misdeeds. The man seeking pride and glory for his own name often makes himself loathsome to others. If your own glory is or has been what you’re seeking, ask yourself the question, “So what?”. However powerful, famous, or admired a man may be in his lifetime, what is his end? Men die and pass away. If they “pass their prime”, they are only remembered for how they ended in weakness. If they pass away during their heyday, it ends at that point. Even their “good” (and it may only be “good” because it bears some semblance of what the world considers great) names are forgotten in time. Don’t we have many memorials with men’s names engraved – but to what end? As time passes, it becomes just another name, without the adoration that they sought.  Again, hymn rightly captures it, “Time, like an ever-rolling stream, Bears all its sons away; They fly, forgotten, as a dream, Dies at the op’ning day”.

Strive for man’s chief end. Instead, let us remember that whatever God has bestowed upon us is for the sole purpose of making Him great and highly exalted. God has a far greater glory than any man – past, present, or future, will ever have. The living God never passes away, and His power never wavers nor dips. When a man dies, even the stone on which their name may be engraved will probably outlast the brief period they may have seemed glorious while they were alive. God, who spoke creation into being, and at whose command creation will be recreated, is from everlasting to everlasting. He is the giver of life and of all that sustains life. Don’t be foolish to waste this brief life of several decades at best chasing glory from man, to seek their praise, commendation, and adoration. And to waste this life chasing the commendation from fickle men who, at best, will also only live for several decades. But a life used by God to magnify Him is only possible if we are truly holy and a pure vessel for His use. Is your time and energy used up for the fleeting glory of man in school, at work, or even in the church, instead of being used up in building up yourself to be as spiritual as you can be for the Creator’s use?  There are prerequisites to fulfilling the chief end of man.  So, while we have life and breath, let us be willing to give up the temporal, for the eternal; and use our all to seek to point men only to the Most High God. He alone is truly glorious and shines in light which our present eyes cannot behold. At any time that we are tempted to do otherwise, let us remember the wise proverb,    

“. . . for men to search their own glory is not glory.” (Pro 25:27)

Yours in our Lord’s service,
Pastor