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Sunday, February 9, 2020

God's Glory Frightens Us

Is our fear of God about His glory? 

Are we terrified of the expansiveness and greatness of His glory, His beauty? Are we terrified of encountering the True One, the only Person who is Perfect and True, the only One with integrity, the only One who is consistent, the only One who cannot lie, and to Whom all lies are the greatest affront? Are we terrified of seeing our depravity thrown naked by seeing the perfectness of Him? The contrast between Him and our state would humble us. 

We do not like really to be told we are wrong. It’s a little easier to bear being shown wrong by imperfect humans; there we have the gratification of knowing that they’re not all they’re cracked up to be, either- in them we see ourselves, which is perhaps one reason why when they show themselves better than we ourselves, we are resentful of it, and angry at ourselves- they shouldn’t be any better than we are. 

But when we are faced with the Perfect, we have no escape in judging that One, except in a rebellious, temperamental fit.

2 comments:

  1. Have you read The Cloud of Unknowing? It made me rethink the notion of contemplation altogether, and relates to this post.

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    Replies
    1. I haven't read it- I'll look into this, as well.

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