Favorites VII

I love the story of Isaiah encountering the Lord in the Temple.  I have turned to that sixth chapter of Isaiah more times than I can count.  It is a story that is filled with mystery, glory, and the holiness of God.  It is also a story of a man who found himself standing in a moment when heaven's glory broke in upon the things of the earth.  There are many "thin moments" described in the Bible, moments when glory invades the ordinary,  but this one experienced by Isaiah is one which simply cannot be forgotten.  Who is not stilled and removed from the ordinary of the earth when those words of the prophet are spoken, "...I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lofty, and the hem of His robe filled the Temple."  When I quote the verse, I am still likely to go back to my King James days and say, "...His train filled the Temple."     

Who can read these words and hear them in their spirit and not want to shout, "Glory!  Glory to God in the Highest!"  It might also cause a not so Biblical "Wow!" to be added to the praise generated by the passage and the images it invokes.  The passage brings to center stage the holiness of God.  The center of Asbury College from which I received my college degree is a building known as Hughes Auditorium.  When I attended back in the late '60's, we were required to attend chapel in that building three times a week.  At the front of the auditorium inscribed high on the wall were the words, "Holiness Unto the Lord."  It was something we all saw each time we sat down and it was a word which reminded us of our own calling to live a holy life.    

The God who loves us is a Holy God.  To think of Him as something less is a serious spiritual error.  It is an error which will take us into a diminished and powerless spiritual life.  We must never forget that the God who reveals Himself to us is a Holy God.  Neither can we forget what Peter wrote to the church, "...as He who calls you is holy, be holy yourselves."  (I Peter 1:15)  Amen!