Getting the Glory of Christ Before Our Eyes

John Parnell blogging over at 'Desiring God' has juxtaposed 2 rich paragraphs from 2 of my favourite authors/ spiritual mentors from different eras, Jack Miller - seminal theologian-pastor who died in the 1990's, and John Owen - premier theologian of the 17th C.  These 2 men, different in so many ways, nevertheless shared a common purpose in their writing, viz.  encouraging others to live and minister in light of the reality of the awesomely majestic glory of God.  This is magnificently profound ...

 Jack Miller:What I finally came to as I walked and prayed for you is the old, old story of getting the gospel clear in your own hearts and minds, making it clear to others, and doing it with only one motive — the glory of Christ. Getting the glory of Christ before your eyes and keeping it there is the greatest work of the Spirit that I can imagine. And there is no greater peace, especially in the times of treadmill-like activity, than doing it all for the glory of the Lord Jesus.

Heart of a Servant Leader: Letters from Jack Miller, (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2004), 22.

John Owen:Let us live in the constant contemplation of the glory of Christ, and virtue will proceed from him to repair all our decays, to renew a right spirit within us, and to cause us to abound in all duties of obedience. . .It will fix the soul unto that object which is suited to give it delight, complacency, and satisfaction. . . when the mind is filled with thoughts of Christ and his glory, when the soul thereon cleaves unto him with intense affections, they will cast out, or not give admittance unto, those causes of spiritual weakness and indisposition. . .And nothing will so much excite and encourage our souls hereunto as a constant view of Christ and his glory.
The Glory of Christ, The Works of John Owen, ed. William H. Goold, 1850-53, (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1965), I, 460-461