Awesome Joy

… and the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people.  
Fire came out from the presence of the LORD 
and consumed the burnt offering and the fat portions on the altar.  
And when all the people saw it, they shouted for joy and fell face down.
Leviticus 9:23-24 (NIV)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Awesome Joy
It is a glorious moment – literally – when “the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people.”  And it is a moment of awesome joy as the people “shouted for joy and fell face down.”

What is it that leads the people to respond with this combination of joy and awe?  It isn’t merely that the glory of the LORD appears to them, but that atonement has been made for their sins – the atonement that God himself has provided through Moses and Aaron.  This means it is now safe for the glory of the LORD to appear without burning them up because of their sins.

This combination of joy and awe can and should characterise us as Christians, every day of our lives and especially when we gather on Sundays.  Joy: because we are in the presence of the Lord, for ever.  Awe: because of the nature of the God in whose presence we now stand, and because of what it cost to make atonement for our sins.

The apostle John was among those who could say, “We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14) – the one who came to make atonement for our sins, “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (1:29).

Lord, thank you for showing us your glory in your one and only Son; fill us with the joy and awe that is fitting for those who stand in your presence.  Amen.

Yours warmly, in Christ,
Chris Hobbs (Senior Minister)