Josh, in his last post, brought up the topic of grace. Grace is one of the most unbelievable aspects of who God is, and why he loves us so much. A lot of people, though, wonder exactly what grace is.
Grace (n.) – Seemingly effortless beauty or charm of movement, form, or proportion.
a. Divine love and protection bestowed freely on people.
That’s a simple definition of grace. Divine love, beauty, charm. How does that apply to God, though? I think it’s important to know a bit about who God really is, first. One of the most amazing descriptions of God comes from the Book of Isaiah; the sixth chapter. Here’s a bit of it:
1 … I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple.
2 Attending him were mighty [angels], each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew.
3 They were calling out to each other,“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!
The whole earth is filled with his glory!”
4 Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke.
5 Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”
Okay. Imagine, if you will, finding yourself in a huge, immaculate temple – the most amazing you’ve ever imagined. Sitting in the throne on the opposite side is the God of the Universe, in ‘light so brilliant that no human can approach him,’ as 1 Timothy 6:16 puts it. Exodus 33:20 says we can’t even ‘ look directly at [God's] face, for no one may see [Him] and live.’ So, there he is, in the throne, and you can barely even stand.
Surrounding the throne are these amazing, bizarre Angels whose voices are so loud and booming they shake the foundations of the Temple. And what are the doing? They can’t even show their faces before God! And here’s poor Isaiah in the midst of all this, probably shaking in his sandals, saying, “I am ruined! It’s over!” because he, like you and I, is a sinner, and he is standing before God. I think that paints a better picture of who God is then any artist rendering or painting in the world.
Now, here’s something for you to do and consider. When you pray, do you pray to THAT God? If you were to knowingly pray to THAT God, would you pray the same way? I know I challenge that a lot; sometimes I just go through the motions when I pray. Some people just stand there and recite the Lord’s prayer, or Catholics recite a ‘Hail Mary,’ but do you think those rituals mean anything to THAT God? That amazing, Holy being wants to have a PERSONAL relationship with you!? Does it not blow your mind to pieces? I know it does mine.
What does that have to do with Grace, though? You’ll have to read my next post to see, and I guarantee you, it’ll blow your mind.
Thanks for reading!
Lots of Love,
-Matt
written by Matt
\\ tags: Angels, Exodus, God, grace, Holiness, Isaiah, Jesus, Timothy, Who God Is
Today I want to talk about Prayer and why it’s important to each and every one of us.
