A Glimpse of Glory

“Oh my gosh it’s beautiful!” 

Those were the first words Robin spoke as she looked out our bedroom window this morning.  I had been outside to run and she asked me what the conditions were like.  I told her that it was snowing and piling up pretty fast, so much so that I had shortened my running plans. She looked out and was taken aback at the beauty of what she saw.

Now it isn't unusual to have snow, and lots of it, where we live in Minnesota, but to have it happen in May is virtually unheard of.  And it was coming down fast. As I write this post, three hours after my attempt to get to work, it still is.  Today is the first day where we had so much snow that I couldn't get through the driveway.  I got both cars stuck, and given that the neighbor is stuck on our unplowed street I likely wouldn't have gotten anywhere should I have reached it.

My feed on Facebook is filled with pictures of the yards of friends, yards that look like ours does now, showing patios that were delightful places to sit last weekend and which are now covered with 6-8 inches of snow.  And who knows when it will stop?

This late season blizzard isn't fun for everyone.  Schools are closed, children are home and parents who can get to work may be scrambling to find child care.

Some people have lost power to their homes.  And while they wait for their power to be restored there are people who are out and working in the storm regardless of the conditions, such as the power crews, police, plow drivers and others.  Their perspectives on the storm are likely more varied than mine.

But I keep coming back to Robin’s early exclamation of delight, “Oh my gosh it’s beautiful!” 

I think that the delight that she had in seeing the unexpected May blizzard is similar to the delight that Christians will know when they see the beauty of heaven.  As we read the Bible we see glimpses of it in Isaiah and Revelation.  Revelation 21:18-21 gives a rich description of the beauty of the New Jerusalem, a beautiful place prepared by God for those who will be there with Him.

And that is what will really make heaven beautiful, not what is there, but Who is there.  Revelation 21:3 says:

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.  He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself with be with them as their God.”

In the snow that has surprised us today we get a glimpse of unexpected beauty, a beauty that points us towards the glory of God.  Heaven’s true beauty will not be in its physical appearance, as wonderful as that may be, but in the presence of the Living God.  

And in God’s presence I suspect we will proclaim, with infinite more delight than Robin found in this morning’s snow, “You are beautiful!”

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.