"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." Isaiah 6:1
"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!” Isaiah 6:5
Recently, I was reading Isaiah chapter 6. It is a familiar passage where Isaiah sees the Lord sitting on His throne in the temple and he responds with, ‘Woe, is me.” This passage made me wonder what it would be like to come to church on a Sunday morning, and see the Lord sitting on His throne in the sanctuary. When I imagine Jesus of Nazareth, Who healed the blind and lame, Who welcomed little children, Who calmed the storm, I think I would just rush into the sanctuary and sit at His feet. However, if I imagine the sanctuary being filled with the shekinah glory and Jesus in His transfiguration radiance, I think that I would respond more like Isaiah and fall on my knees, totally humbled.
This side of eternity I don’t think any of us will see the Lord as Isaiah did. Yet, every time we come to church to worship, we do come into the presence of our Lord. We may not see Him with our eyes, but He is there. I am glad that when I come to church I feel welcomed, loved. I am glad that God is approachable and that I can come as the song goes, just as I am. However, I also need to remember that I am worshiping the Lord God almighty Who is holy, holy, holy, and I must come with reverence, respect, awe, humbleness, and yes, maybe just a little bit of fear. For when I come into the presence of the Lord, I come into the presence of a king, and not just any king. I come into the presence of the King of kings.
One last thought. . .
One day we will all see our Lord face to face. For many of us it will be when we die. For some it will perhaps be when our Lord returns. I don’t think we can imagine what it will be like. I don’t think we have the words to describe the glory, majesty, power, might. I think we will finally begin to understand how great and wonderful our God truly is, and how small and unworthy we are in comparison. Yet, amid the shekinah glory, the awesome, wondrous splendor, I think we will see outstretched arms and hear a voice say, “Welcome home, My child. I love you.”