Glorious

The Lord came from Sinai and appeared to them at Seir; he shone on them from Mt. Paran and came with ten thousand holy ones, with lightning from his right hand for them. Deut. 33:2

The shape of a throne with the appearance of a sapphire stone was above the expanse. There was a form with the appearance of a human on the throne high above. From what seemed to be his waist up, I saw a gleam like amber, with what looked like fire enclosing it all around. from what seemed to be his waist down, I also saw what looked like fire. There was a brilliant light all around him. The appearance of the brilliant light all around was like that of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day. This was the appearance of the form of the Lord’s glory. Ezekiel 1:26-28

When I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was one like the Son of Man, dressed in a robe and with a golden sash wrapped around his chest. The hair of his head was white as wool – white as snow – and his eyes like a fiery flame. His feet were like fine bronze as it is fired in a furnace, and his voice like the sound of cascading waters. He had seven stars in his right hand; a sharp, double-edged sword came from his mouth, and his face was shining like the sun at full strength. Rev. 1:12-16

Or do you think that I cannot call on my father, and he will provide me here and now with more than twelve legions of angels? Matt. 26:53

Passage after passage describes God with the most beautiful, awe-inspiring images the human mind can conjure. He is easy to think about as an infant in a cradle, as a man traveling with his followers, even as a broken body drooping from a wooden cross. We can relate to those images, and they don’t cause us much disturbance. Though they serve an important purpose in our connection with God, they don’t do much to shock us out of our comfort zones.

The images used to describe God’s power are designed to do exactly that. Can you imagine cowering beneath a sky blotted out by a figure of light on a faceted throne surrounded by an army of angels ready for war? It’s almost beyond the capacity of our human minds to comprehend. Yet this incomprehensible majesty is ever present, just beyond our physical sight. And that majesty doesn’t war against us, but on our behalf. More than that, if we choose we can become a part of it, one of those gathered at the foot of the throne, partaking of the river that flows from it.

Then he showed me the river of the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the city’s main street. The tree of life was on each side of the river, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations, and there will no longer be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will worship Him. They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. Night will be no more; people will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, because the Lord God will give them light, and they will reign forever and ever. Rev. 22:1-5

God is glorious. God’s realm is glorious. God’s army is glorious. And whether our eyes can see it or not, we are glorious in His hands. But only if we choose.