Full of His Glory

"...Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is full of His glory..." Isaiah 6:3

The land of Canaan was full of fortified cities, well organized and strong armies, and last but not least, giants. The nation of Israel were uneducated, escaped slaves, who had travelled the desert on foot with everything they owned, and stood at the edge of the land, wondering what to do next.

In His grace and wisdom, God instructed them to send in twelve spies, to check out the land "...that I am going to give to the sons of Israel..." (Numbers 13:2) It was a sneak preview of the goodness of God, and guess what? It backfired.

Ten spies came back, having seen the walls and the giants, shaking in their sandals, completely confident that they could never retake their land.

But two returned, proclaiming the goodness of God.

On Sunday, Dave introduced Joshua to us, and explained why Joshua had a different perspective on the land of Canaan. He was a man who saw God through his service to Moses, he lingered with God, he trusted the Word of God and he understood the cost of rebellion. In his message, Dave pointed to the fact that seeing the glory of God was a life changing event for Joshua and then he read several passages, including the one above from Isaiah, that tells us that the whole earth is filled with the glory of God.

It made me stop and think about how I take creation for granted. This summer I was in Italy and after visiting the Vatican Museum, I promptly returned home, ordered a book on the life of Michelangelo, read it in about two sittings and was fascinated by this incredible artist.

And yet, truth be known, what Michelangelo sculpted and painted is simply a copy of God's creation. Why do I praise the copier rather than the Creator? If my future granddaughters color me a picture and I walk over to my copier and make a copy, do I praise the HP Office Jet for making me a copy, or do I praise my little granddaughters for their artwork? Does this even make sense?

Today, my friend Jackie was at the house and she spotted two, full-sized adult eagles perching in a tree. The sky was bright blue and clear, and their white heads were such a contrast to the blue sky. We both grabbed our cameras, but she took a better picture than I (way to go, Jackie!). When we were done comparing photos, she looked at me and said, "Tell Dave we saw the glory of God today!"

I am committed to paying attention to my surroundings. If life is all about me, then I don't have to look out the window at anything. But if life is all about His glory - if everything He created was for His glory - then I need to start paying attention and PRAISING the One who made all things.

I must stop looking at the copiers and set my eyes on the Creator.

Because when I see the glory of God, it is a life changing event, isn't it?