Having been given a “glimpse of God’s glory” sounds like a high and lofty thing, but I am convinced that what I was blessed to see had a very practical purpose. Remembering that moment in time where God’s endless love, joy, forgiveness and rest were tangible realities, gives me the vantage point to view and overcome life in this world.
What I was given was a revelation of my Lord’s nature and being, which is love, immeasurable love. To understand life and who we are in the Lord, we must understand who he is. When we think of the glory of God, often we think about his power and majesty and the mighty things he has done. We respond as humble servants and struggle to ‘die to the flesh’ and faithfully serve him. But when the Lord gently woke me up, to briefly glimpse his glory, what he showed me was his love. He showed me his forgiveness and my restoration. He showed me his mercy and his tenderness toward me.
A glimpse of God’s glory is profoundly life changing. I find that true worship arises from the knowledge of God’s very personal love for me. I know that when I pray, he is there, ready to forgive, ready to hear my petition and to give of himself for me. I know that I am precious to him.
When Moses asked God “Lord, show me your glory.” God responded by putting him in the cleft of a rock. Then, Scripture says, he revealed himself to Moses in all his glory (see Exodus 34:6–7). The way God wants us to know his glory is through the revelation of his great love. When Moses was given a glimpse of God’s glory he was changed. Instead of being fearful of the Lord, he was moved to worship him (Exodus 34:8).
Our God is the almighty, all powerful creator of all the heavens and the earth. He created sound to speak all things into existence. He created the angels, knowing that a third of them would fall and he created man knowing that he would be deceived and betray him. Every hair on our head, every beat of our heart, every breath that we take are counted by him. Every star in the sky and every creature on the earth was designed and made perfect by him. He fashioned the eye to see, the ear to hear; miracles beyond human comprehension as to how they could have been formed. He is almighty God.
But when he reveals himself to us, he reveals that he is love. Love created the things that we know. Take a moment and consider what was created and it’s plain to see; a baby’s laugh, the tiny eyelashes on a budgie(!), the whimsical movements of a red headed woodpecker. He is love.
What a contrast to the things of the world that rally for our affections! How they pale by comparison when we take in the glory of God, (our God!), who loved us with such a passion that he suffered pain, ridicule and death so that his perfect blood could be poured out as a ransom for our sin, that we could be reconciled to him! Show me an earthly affection that compares to that!
In light of his love, the need to put aside the flesh, the deeds of the old man, our earthly self, becomes all to clear . We are no longer as CS Lewis wrote, “[…]an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum […]”, but we look up to see the glorious holiday mansion our father has built for us and we need never look back. He is love. His life is life. He is all we need.
“I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ” Phil 3:8
And For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Eph 3:14-19
I believe that true worship arises from our hearts when we are overcome by a vision of God’s undeserved love for us. It’s based on the revelation that God gives us of himself, of his love, goodness and mercy, his readiness to forgive. If we’re to walk according to the Spirit and not the flesh, our walk must be based on this awesome truth about him. In the light of this truth, obedience to him becomes irresistible, for we know that to walk in his Spirit is to walk in the freedom and love we have been given in Jesus Christ.
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