DE Ponderings
Christmas music is some of my favorite. Maybe it's because I hear it only once a year, normally. I also like the solemnity that exudes from songs like "Silent Night". A little piece I read in a devotional recently has helped me to see another element in Christmas songs-the element of surprise. "While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night" has the element of surprise in it. Shepherds are watching their flocks of sheep under the night sky when all around them the glory of the Lord came down. Imagine being one of those shepherds. Imagine experiencing the glory of the Lord surrounding you. Surprise? To say the least. More like shock, fear.
I'm not exactly sure what "the glory of the Lord" might be or how it might be experienced. It sounds pretty amazing to me-THE GLORY OF THE LORD. It sounds, well, surreal, if not unreal. It's a biblical phenomenon that surely doesn't occur anymore in the modern world. Or does it? Hmmm….
Well, here's what I think. What if "the glory of the Lord" is simply those moments when God in some way, be it big or small, enters in a sensory, perceptible way the space where we are? If this is the case, God has been in the business of bursting upon the scene since the beginning of recorded history. Remember the story of Moses and the burning bush? Was that not the glory of the Lord? Remember Noah and the rainbow? Jonah and the big fish? Isaiah and the vision of the flying seraphs and hot coals? Nebuchadnezzar's amazement about the escapees from the fiery furnace? Belshazzar and the writing on the wall? Daniel and the lions' den? Not to mention, following the shepherds experience, more experiences of God's glory: the wonder of Pentecost, Stephen's vision before his death, Saul's Damascus Road conversion, the revelation of John.
Working within the premise that God is unchanging, would it not make sense that one of God's unchangeable attributes is the ability to break in upon the scene in a surprising, glorious way? Have you ever experienced an "aha" moment, one of those inexplicable, goose pimple producing moments that leaves you full of wonder and amazement? Moments like the birth of newborn baby? a view of the Northern Lights? a gentle breeze that brushes your cheek on a completely calm night? a song that moves you to tears? a thought that stops you dead in your tracks? a movement from one who has been comatose? the love of the community in a time of crisis? If you've experienced moments like these, then I'm fairly confident you've experienced the glory of God breaking in upon the present scene where you are experiencing life.
We're still surprised when this happens. We still experience God.
Hey, during this Christmas season, when we remember the surprise of those along ago who experienced God bursting in upon the scene, let's anticipate and expect God to continue surprising us. And when we're surprised, well, why not stop and simply say, "Thank you, God, for coming near!" Amen.
I'm not exactly sure what "the glory of the Lord" might be or how it might be experienced. It sounds pretty amazing to me-THE GLORY OF THE LORD. It sounds, well, surreal, if not unreal. It's a biblical phenomenon that surely doesn't occur anymore in the modern world. Or does it? Hmmm….
Well, here's what I think. What if "the glory of the Lord" is simply those moments when God in some way, be it big or small, enters in a sensory, perceptible way the space where we are? If this is the case, God has been in the business of bursting upon the scene since the beginning of recorded history. Remember the story of Moses and the burning bush? Was that not the glory of the Lord? Remember Noah and the rainbow? Jonah and the big fish? Isaiah and the vision of the flying seraphs and hot coals? Nebuchadnezzar's amazement about the escapees from the fiery furnace? Belshazzar and the writing on the wall? Daniel and the lions' den? Not to mention, following the shepherds experience, more experiences of God's glory: the wonder of Pentecost, Stephen's vision before his death, Saul's Damascus Road conversion, the revelation of John.
Working within the premise that God is unchanging, would it not make sense that one of God's unchangeable attributes is the ability to break in upon the scene in a surprising, glorious way? Have you ever experienced an "aha" moment, one of those inexplicable, goose pimple producing moments that leaves you full of wonder and amazement? Moments like the birth of newborn baby? a view of the Northern Lights? a gentle breeze that brushes your cheek on a completely calm night? a song that moves you to tears? a thought that stops you dead in your tracks? a movement from one who has been comatose? the love of the community in a time of crisis? If you've experienced moments like these, then I'm fairly confident you've experienced the glory of God breaking in upon the present scene where you are experiencing life.
We're still surprised when this happens. We still experience God.
Hey, during this Christmas season, when we remember the surprise of those along ago who experienced God bursting in upon the scene, let's anticipate and expect God to continue surprising us. And when we're surprised, well, why not stop and simply say, "Thank you, God, for coming near!" Amen.
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