Glory & Awe

“When with the ransomed in glory, His face I at last shall see

Twill be my joy through the ages to sing of His love for me…

How wonderful!  How marvelous!  And my song shall ever be:

How wonderful!  How marvelous is my Savior’s love for me!”

-          C.H. Gabriel

Ever have a theme for the year without even realizing it?  It seems that the Lord has been patiently teaching me many lessons over the past year…but it wasn’t until I sat down and really processed through that it all started to come together.  I’m sure that I’m still missing the full lesson.  And I know that you don’t have time to read all of the things I’ve thought about today.  :)  But let me try to share a little.

I had the privilege of listening to two live performances of Handel’s Messiah this past Christmas season.  I don’t think I’ve ever listened to it in full before.  Sure, I could sing parts of the Hallelujah chorus and recognized the “Wonderful!  Counselor!” section…but I hadn’t listened to more.  I was struck with a few things as I listened to the words taken right from the Bible.

1.       “Behold!” – how often the prophets talked of His coming…and said to LOOK.

a.       “The Lord, whom you seek, shall suddenly come into His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom you delight in; behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts” (Malachi 3:1-3).

b.      “O Thou, that tellest good tidings to Zion, get thee up into the high mountain.  O Thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem, lift up they voice with strength, lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Jerusalem: ‘Behold your God!’ (Isaiah 40:9).

c.       “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem.  Behold, thy King cometh unto thee…” (Zechariah 9:9-10).

2.        “Glory” came up frequently.  (and many times when the chorus joined the soloists)

a.       “And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh will see it together” (Isaiah 40:5).

b.      “Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.  For behold darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people.  But the LORD shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee” (Isaiah 60:1-2).

c.       “There were shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flocks by night.  And lo, the angel of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid.  And the angel said unto them:  Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord…And suddenly, there was with the angel, a multitude of heavenly host, praising God and saying:  ‘Glory to God in the highest and peace on earth, goodwill towards men’” (Luke 2:8-11, 13-14).

3.       God is so far above us. He is awe-inspiring.

a.       “The Lord, whom you seek, shall suddenly come into His temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom you delight in; behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of Hosts.  But who may abide the day of His coming, and who shall stand when He appeareth?” (Malachi 3:1-3)

b.      “Hallelujah!  For the LORD God Omnipotent reigneth...The kingdom of this world is become, the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ.  And He shall reign forever and ever…King of Kings and Lord of Lords”  (Revelation 19:6, 16; 11:15).

Beholding.  Glory.  The utter power and beauty of God.

Isn’t it ironic that when I spoke at a women’s conference in April, my title was “Beholding is Becoming” – and my talk centered around II Corinthians 3:18, “And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect (behold) the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

What we spend our time looking at, we become like.  I told the Lord I wanted to behold Him…I wanted to become more like Him.  And that takes time...metamorphosis is not pretty in all its stages.  It’s a process of ever increasing glory.  And I will never be God (thank goodness!), but I can more clearly bear His image to those around me.  What helps that process is having a clearer vision of who He is.

My vision of God has been helped through more Bible reading for sure.  But I also finished a book today that I found earlier this week.  (I have a slight problem when it comes to books.  I love them.  I order them before I finish the ones I am in the midst of reading.)  When I came home a week ago, I found myself on Amazon, looking at new titles…and I was captured by one I had never heard of:  None Like Him:  10 Ways God is Different From Us (and why that’s a good thing) by Jen Wilkin.

I would highly encourage you to read it.  Jen reminds us that God is:

1.       Infinite – The God of No Limits

a.       He is immeasurable.

2.       Incomprehensible – The God of Infinite Mystery

a.       He is not unknowable, but unable to be fully known.  Yet, He has revealed Himself to us… “and eternity will increasingly disclose His hidden glories to the eyes of our hearts” (p. 39).

3.       Self-Existent – The God of Infinite Creativity

a.       God was not created.  He always was.  And He has created everything.

4.       Self-Sufficient – The God of Infinite Provision

a.       He has no needs.  He is whole.

5.       Eternal – The God of Infinite Days

a.       He is outside of time.

6.       Immutable – The God of Infinite Sameness

a.       He does not change.

7.       Omnipresent – The God of Infinite Place

a.       He is able to be fully present everywhere.  There is no place or time where God is not (immanence), yet He is distinct from the creation He fills (transcendence).

8.       Omniscient – The God of Infinite Knowledge

a.       He is limitless in His knowledge – not because He has learned everything, but because He is the origin of all things.

9.       Omnipotent – The God of Infinite Power

a.       “And these are but the outer fringe of His works, how faint the whisper we hear of Him!  Who then can understand the thunder of His power?” Job 26:14

10.   Sovereign – The God of Infinite Rule

a.       Based on all his other attributes, his most right and logical place to inhabit is the throne.

He is so not like me. 

As Jen Wilkin reminds us, we are designed to “reflect God’s glory” by bearing His image, yet often “we choose to rival it”.  We often try to be God…when it’s obvious we’re not. 

For example:

I am measureable (from the moment of birth I could be weighed in pounds and measured in inches). 

I am knowable (there is nothing about me God does not know). 

I am created (I can only create by rearranging what already exists…yet I try to take credit for creating things which God has merely called me to steward). 

I am so needy (“Sanctification is the process of learning increasing dependence, not autonomy” p. 63). 

I have a limited time frame on earth (I am a creature “of a particular era, with a limited perspective born of limited years” p.70). 

I change (Yet:  “Just as my assurance of salvation rests in the fact that God cannot change, my hope of sanctification rests in the fact that I can” p.87). 

I can only be at one place at one time (yet I try to be in more than one place to the detriment of my relationships…and miss that God is near me wherever I go). 

I will never know everything (and thoughtless consumption of all the information available to me at my fingertips can actually be more harmful than helpful). 

I am limited in power (I tend to chase the culture’s ideas of power in strength, beauty, wealth, and charisma…yet Jesus never chased these things as the most powerful human being who ever lived). 

I do not control the world (yet I can control my thoughts, attitudes, words and actions…although He is divinely sovereign, I have responsibility).

I am so different than God.

When I BEHOLD the GLORY of God…I am speechless.  I am in awe. 

As Jen Wilkin reminded me, the only response I can have is to “step away from the throne, acknowledging that [I am] utterly unqualified to fill it.”  And the God who does fill that throne reminds me that in all my insignificance, I have significance because of His love for me.

How wonderful!  How marvelous!  And my song shall ever be:

How wonderful!  How marvelous is my Savior’s love for me!

Today’s my birthday.  Another year has passed.  I am excited to see how God continues to show me who He is in 2017.  He is awe-inspiring.  And someday…we all shall truly behold Him.  And that day, we will be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is (I John 3:2).

Until then, I am so thankful for His unlimited patience. :)  (I Timothy 1:16)