His Glory
A number of years ago, Ann and I celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary with a trip to Hawaii and it was great. I had been there while I was a kid in the Navy, and had long wanted a return trip.
One of our strongest memories is how glorious the sunsets were. We stood on the beach at Waikiki and watched as the fiery globe seemed to dive into the sea, its rays reflecting brilliantly off passing clouds. Sunset dinner cruises sailed into the distance, while crowds gathered on the beach each evening to watch. It all seemed to go so quickly that you didn’t want to blink for fear of missing the moment.
As the last of the splendor dipped below the horizon, spontaneous applause often arose. On one occasion someone called out, “Do it again!” Others repeated it, until it felt like an old time prayer meeting – although I am sure that most of the watchers did not have a clue as to the prayer they were offering.
We spend time looking at the skies, always checking the weather. We like watching the clouds gather, enjoying the cumulus of summer glistening against a blue so remarkable it seems to be alive. Mornings greeted by sunshine lift our spirits. Evenings blessed by sunsets cap our days with praise.
And then the rain appears, a welcome visitor even with the gloominess that comes with the darker days. The earth is brought to life by both the sunshine and the rain and we look to them to tell us of the passing of the seasons. What marvelous metaphors for the days of our lives.
God thinks so, too. One of my favorite scriptures is found in Deuteronomy 33:26-27. I love the imagery of God riding on the wind, battling for me and carrying me in His arms when I fall.
In the Genesis account we read, “And God said, ‘let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth.’ And it was so” (Gen 1:14-15 NIV). Here He placed the most valuable, beautiful and complex life in all of His creation – the plants, the animals, and the man. In the cool of the evening He walked and talked with the man. Then, He created woman as His finishing touch, the pièce de résistance, if you will.
God’s glory fills the earth and is reflected in the skies. John Wesley caught that in his hymn, “Christ, Whose Glory fills the Skies.” So did Caswell and Bridges, when they translated the old hymn, “when Morning gilds the Skies. [my heart awakening cries: may Jesus Christ be praised!]“
And more…we shall behold Him again in the skies. It will be the place of His return, where all the earth will see Him riding on the clouds of the sky (Matthew 24:30-35; Acts 1:10-11). We need to be about our business with one eye always on the horizon, for in such an hour as this He will return for His own. Are you ready for that? Are you ready for Him to do it again?
Strength and honor,
Bill
