The Madness of Hope

The Glory Of The Lord

Inspired to capture the beauty and glory of Christmas, I picked up my camera, attempting to catch the light glistening off the red glass ornament hanging on my tree. Yet, when I looked at my photos, all I noticed was my image on the shiny ball.
Then I thought, isn’t that what Christmas is all about?
In the Old Testament the glory of God was to be feared and Moses put a veil over his face to hide from the glory.
Even the shepherds in the field were afraid when the glory of the Lord shone around them. In fact, they were ‘terrified’ (Luke 2:8-20). The angel told them not to be afraid but to go find the Christ child.
After they had seen the baby, “they returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.”
Jesus is God’s glory revealed. Isaiah 40:5 says, “And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” This verse was used to compose one of the most beautiful and famous songs ever written.

“Whenever we turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there we are—face-to-face! We suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We're free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him. ” 2 Cor. 3:16-18. MSG
We see God when we see Jesus. The world sees Jesus when God is glorified in our lives. Just as my image is reflected off the glass ornament on my tree, so I pray my face reflects the glory of Christ.

In Joining Ann at A Holy Experience, I thank God He has revealed his Glory through his Son. I thank him that even though I fail time after time and his glory is not revealed through my life, that He keeps forgiving me and working with me, helping me to come to the place where I am glorifying Him. I thank him for his mercy and grace. And I thank him for brightly colored bulbs on my Christmas tree that teach me lessons about His love.