When the plane takes off you get a rush in your stomach and you start to rise quickly. The city beneath you shrinks and shrinks until you are certain that you could pick up an 18-wheeler between your thumb and pointer-finger. Your daily world starts to look more and more like what you see in one of those images of earth that is taken by a satellite in outer space. And then, out of nowhere, it happens. The world beneath you disappears. For a split second, all you can see is white, and then you finally break through the top. You are literally on top of the layer of clouds and the sun is reflecting off of everything around you. I would have to say that it is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I have tried to take photographs of it, but they never do the scene justice. It may be an even more breathtaking moment that seeing a Double Rainbow (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQSNhk5ICTI).
If you have ever experienced this moment, then you know what I am talking about. The clouds seem to be some puffy essence of orange light, and you feel like you could just walk out of the plane and land on one like a giant cotton ball. I cannot think of another moment that is quite like it. And the real reason is because God’s glory is all around you. In Psalms, David speaks over and over about how the heavens, the earth, and all creation tell of God’s glory. And this… this is the perfect embodiment of those scriptures. God’s glory is all you can see.
We are the people sitting in the window seat who keep the window closed the whole flight. God’s glory is surrounding us, but we aren’t taking notice of the most important parts. God is incredible and incomprehensible. You can’t explain Him anywhere near the degree that you can experience Him.
A close friend of mine has always said that if we ever lose the awe of the cross, we might as well give up on doing any sort of ministry, and I think he is right. If it doesn’t inspire you that a God big enough to make this universe loves you enough to give His son’s life for you, then you are missing it. If it doesn’t overwhelm you that someone was caring enough to take on every sin, guilt, and pain you have ever felt, all in one moment, then you should take a long look at yourself. Because some of you might be willing to do so yourself, but I highly doubt that any of you would be willing to let your child die for me while feeling all my pain and guilt. And God loved His son way more than you could ever conceive of loving your child. This was a ridiculous sacrifice.
But even beyond that, God’s desire is not for us to love Him just because of what He has done for us. His desire is that we would be awestruck by His majesty, splendor, and brilliance. You know - all those words that I hardly ever use in a sentence that isn’t about God. And that is not because I am trying to be super religious or something. It is because I am trying to find words that are big enough to describe Him, and of course, still failing in the process.
So here is my question. When is the last time you spent time with God without asking for anything for yourself or for someone else? The last time you were in God’s presence without a hint of selfishness or guilt holding you back from Him? When is the last time you simply sat in the presence of the almighty, omnipresent creator of the world and just worshiped? Simple, pure worship. He deserves our worship every second of every day, and He deserves to have it without our intentions truly being about me. This has hit me over and over again lately, but it really will open your eyes when you realize that is ALL about Him.
Please, forget what happened today. Forget what problems you have. Forget what you are excited about. Go get lost in who God is. I hope you can’t find your way out.
- Zane
