Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person,
and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins,
sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.
Hebrews 1:3
How do you go about describing color to a blind man? Words simply can’t do it, and the sense of touch is wholly inadequate to relate what it is like. The only means to communicate this knowledge would be to give the gift of sight, without which all theory about light is meaningless.
How do you go about describing an infinite God to a finite mind? A person born in a three dimensional world cannot begin to comprehend a Supreme Being who consists of neither atoms nor energy, but is capable of creating both. God and His glory are totally incomprehensible for mankind unless He chooses to reveal Himself to them.
In ancient times, God used the vehicle of light to communicate His presence. Created on the first day, light is not the essence of God, but it is somehow always intricately associated with Him. A pillar of light guided the Israelites through the wilderness, the “Shekinah” glory glowed over the Ark of the Covenant, and Mount Sinai flashed with God’s holy fire. However, no matter how intense light may appear, it’s only a shadow of what His true glory is really like.
Christ is both the effluence of divine radiance and the gift of sight by which the creature can finally see his Creator. In Him, there is no darkness at all.
The unconverted eye will never see God’s glory, because the spiritually lost are totally blind to it. But those who are saved by grace are given eyes of faith to see. For them, the focus will forever be on the Lord, who is the Brightness of God’s Glory.
July 9
