Five Invitations: Day 2

Day 2 - Glory
Psalm 29:2 

Isaiah's vision overwhelms. Does God bully Isaiah?

God reveals himself, showing who he really is. The physicist-priest, John Poklinghorne, said, “The presence of God is veiled because…the naked presence of divinity would overwhelm finite creatures, depriving them of the possibility of truly being themselves and freely accepting God.” We can’t handle a full dose of God. God’s actually careful not to overwhelm us.

But sometimes God gives us a higher dose. God comes into clearer focus.

Why does God do this? Why does God reveal himself at all?

God reveals to invite us closer. God wants connection, a relationship with you and me. God’s inviting Isaiah - inviting us - to come closer by opening up. Isn’t that true in any relationship? We open up, share more about ourselves, so we can better know and be known by someone else. The same thing happens with us and God but in a more powerful way.

But this is God, the infinite Creator, so God’s invitation to finite creatures like us is an invitation to worship. That tells us something crucial about worship. The most important thing we do in Christian worship is tell the truth about God. Whatever we say, whatever we sing, needs to tell the truth about God.

Isaiah sees the true glory of God. Not hints of glory, but glory personified. We taste samples of glory when we relish good music, a delicious bite of food, or even enjoy sexual pleasure. We try to touch something bigger, something transcendent. We want something that lifts us up out of ordinary life for a minute. We’re chasing something that doesn’t fade over time. “Glory” originally meant “weight.” Something glorious is something substantial, something with heft. It’s THERE.

Worship gazes on God’s glory. We see God’s importance, God’s beauty, God’s profound goodness. Acknowledge God’s glory today.

REFLECT:
How do you feel about God inviting you closer? Excited? Afraid?

PRAY:
God, show me your glory! I want to see - the real you. Don’t let me settle for fakes. Amen.