Strangely Dim

There is an old chorus that God has repeatedly used to shape my heart over the last few years...

“Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.”

I have spent a lot of time meditating on that phrase “strangely dim” and have seen how it fleshes itself out around the world. If we are turning our eyes to Christ, our material possessions, worldly experiences, selfish ambitions pale in comparison to Him. And the suffering, trials, and temptations we go through are still horrible, but not quite as bad in light of knowing Christ and focusing on Him.
I came across these two quotes along the same line of thinking as well, encouraging us to keep our eyes focused on Christ, no matter what our circumstances are.

“The highest of missionary motive is neither obedience to the Great Commission (important as that is), nor love for sinners who are alienated and perishing (strong as that incentive is, especially when we contemplate the wrath of God), but rather zeal — burning and passionate zeal — for the glory of Jesus Christ. . . . Only one imperialism is Christian . . . and that is concern for His Imperial Majesty Jesus Christ, and for the glory of his empire.”
~John Stott

“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.”
~John Owen