an ironic God?

If you live anywhere remotely near where I do... you had a beautiful Saturday. For the first day in months I sat outdoors and enjoyed the sun's rays and did not have to wear a coat. I was at home in Hattiesburg, mom was riding her horse in Madison... so Bea (mom's dog) and I sat in the swing for hours. My observation of God's creation made me think...

... do you think God likes to be ironic? Because He is... a lot.

I took this picture of the sun yesterday.

Look at the way the rays of the sun beam out... they shine so far even on a cloudy day. According to Wikipedia, the Earth is about 93 million miles from the Sun. It's a well known fact that no one can touch/go/see up close the sun because they would die. In thinking of that... and the beauty and light that something 93 million miles away can bestow on me, sitting on a porch in South Mississippi... I began to think about God... who is also unseeable and untouchable in these two stories in the bible.

Moses:Exodus 3: 1-5

1 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

4 When the LORD saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”

5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father,[a] the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

God revealed himself to Moses through fire

(... last time I checked, the sun was a big ball of fire.)

Saul --> Paul: Acts 9:1-16

1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he answered.
11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”
13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”
15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

A light from Heaven shown on Saul and though he was not like Moses and was afraid to look, God blinded Saul so he could not look.

Both of these men overcame great odds and the doubt of many (including themselves) to follow God's Will for their lives and as a result their stories became pivotal example of the transformation God can bring in ones life. Moses, by all accounts, had some sort of speech impediment... yet he is the one cried out to Pharaoh, "Let My People Go!" (And Pharaoh did...) Saul, the King who persecuted so many Christians only God himself knows the number became one of the most respected teachers and preachers of his day. I believe, that the impact of those transformations are made more evident through the physical light that was shown on these men.

The light of the sun will blind you if you are too close...

God who in three persons is the also the Son was not able to be seen either...

{Ironic?? }

I don't think God does coincidence... everything is a lesson with Him. So... I'm trying to figure out what my lesson was yesterday. I think I may understand it... but am waiting for confirmation. Ultimately, whenever we have those sun/Son light moments... it's what I do with that lesson that matters.

“I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

Love Y'all,

KC