By Rev. Aidan Moon
Living in Awe
You can listen to today’s devotion by clicking this SoundCloud link.
Not long ago our family visited some church friends who happen to have a bison ranch. Our boys were in awe as they watched the massive animals from the car. Zeke, our sensitive kiddo, was a little nervous. Connal, our reckless second-born, wanted to climb out of the car and pet them. Being up close and personal with bison is an awe-inspiring experience of raw power. When you see a bison bull shaking his massive head and kicking up dust just a few feet away, nervousness is probably the sane response.
“In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. And one called to another and said:
‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!’
And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. And I said: ‘Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!’
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. And he touched my mouth and said: ‘Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.'”
– Isaiah 6:1-7 English Standard Version
This is true of coming into the presence of God. Isaiah has an incredible experience of God’s power. God is not a zoo animal: He is full of raw power, able to do “what he pleases” (Psalm 115:3). It’s probably the sane response to be afraid. Yet, our God comes near. Jesus enters our space, showing who God is not in power but in weakness. He is lifted up on a cross, and by his blood he atones for our sin. Whenever we approach him, like Isaiah, in humility, he makes us able to stand in the presence of his power. Jesus shows us that our God of power is also a God of love. God uses his power to save us.
Copyright Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Colorado Springs, Colorado
