My grandaparents were world travelers. There was nothing more exciting to them. They loved the sights and the sounds, the people and probably the cocktails. Upon their return, they were bursting with excitement. They couldn’t wait to share all of the amazing things they had done. So they did. For a whole night. With a slide show. And lots of talking. Lots, and lots of talking. That’s right, full descriptions of every picture. They described who was in it, what it smelled like, how this tasted, how that looked. You know how it goes. Problem is, it doesn’t matter how much they talked, they could never relay the full experience. And, it was worth sharing. Their excitement was contagious. I found that when I engaged my heart and my mind, I was able to get a glimpse of how great it was. In fact, it made me want to know more.
Guess what? The apostle Peter shares with us his account of experiencing God. We find the story narrated in Matthew 17:1-6. Jesus took Peter and two others up a mountain. Then, “As the men watched, Jesus’ appearance was transformed so that his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as light. Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus.” Clearly, this is a unique experience. I’m betting that Peter was pretty excited to share it. Wouldn’t you be? I’ll bet he would have given anything to have a camera.
Of course, Peter did not have a camera. He could not assemble a slide show and bring it along to share with everyone. He had only is exuberance and his words. This is what has me fascinated today. His eyewitness description of the experience is found in 2 Peter 1:17. Are you ready for it? “Majestic Glory.” That’s it. Two words. No flowery description or a nauseating list of adjectives. Just the simple words Majestic Glory.
My first read through those words was disappointing. “That’s it?” I thought. How could such an amazing experience be distilled into something so short and simple? Then, I stopped and tried to consider both of those words. Majestic. What does it look like? How many colors are there? Does it have a taste and a smell? When I put my heart and mind into it, I can feel it. It emits an energy. So does Glory. When I focus deeper, I see that it has light and colors. Its intimidating and inviting.
As your soul soaks into Majestic Glory, remember that you are seeing a picture of Jesus. A crude one to be sure. Keep looking and He will make it more clear.