Glory and Coral Reefs

I snorkeled yesterday for the first time in my life. Why oh why did I wait so long to try this??? I don't have an underwater camera so I don't have pictures to show you of the flora and fauna that call the coral reef home. I do have a picture of the sunset I witnessed the night before which sparked the first green flare I had ever seen just as the top of the sun dipped below the horizon. It was a brief green flash, bright and shimmery. Everyone on the shore clapped. I captured this picture while the sun was still on its final descent into the great blue beyond.

Do you see the person walking the shoreline? It reminded me vividly of a verse in the Bible, Habakkuk 2:14, that says, "For the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea."

When I went snorkeling the next morning I got a glimpse into the meaning of that verse. With the snorkeling mask suctioned tightly to my face, mouth-breathing into a pipe extended upward into the air like a periscope, I pushed off the ocean bed and began to float over the surface of the shallows. Paddling gently with my hands, I glided slowly out into the deeper water. I let myself relax and as I settled down into the water beyond my ears, the world above vanished. I became part of the ocean, a world alive with color and movement unimaginable from the shore.

God has promised to fill the earth with His glory as the waters fill the ocean.  Glory. Life. Splendor. God’s glory—is it alive with color and movement unimaginable to earthbound air-breathers like us? Our best idea of glory is found in creation and in Jesus, who is the glory of God.

Glory has weight. Second Corinthians 4:17 tells us that our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. Submerged in the ocean, drifting with the current, I physically felt the weight of the ocean pressing me all around like an all-encompassing, warm embrace. That is how the love of God reaches out toward people. He is an all-enveloping GLORY of love and warmth far outweighing the troubles we experience in our air-breathing lives.  Does the man on the beach in the shaft of the sun's glory know how much God loves him? Who will tell him?

Have a great day!
Amy

Comments

  1. RebeccaJune 25, 2019 at 2:13 PM

    I love reading your blog posts! This is me, waiting for a new post!!!!

    ReplyDelete

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