A fresh blanket of pristine snow greeted me yesterday morning as I raised my bedroom blinds.  It’s not that unusual, considering it’s January, in Wyoming.  What was different about this particular snow, however, was that it was glistening.  Like so many diamonds, dancing.  It was as if someone had taken a giant bottle of iridescent glitter and sprinkled it everywhere.

I happen to know who that Someone might be.

Some people gaze upon a shimmering landscape and merely see Nature.  Science.  Frozen water molecules.  Ice crystals refracting light.

Others see a reflection of GOD.

I’ve come to call these experiences:  “Glimpses of Glory.”  They are those times when the curtain between heaven and earth seems to part, just for a bit.  Perhaps God’s glory is so overpowering that heaven’s borders just can’t quite contain it.  Or maybe God is simply enjoying an opportunity to show off, dazzling and delighting us with His breathtaking beauty.

We mortals can only absorb it in the minutest doses.  Like Moses when he prayed, “Show me Your glory,” God covers us with His hand as He passes by.  We would fall on our faces like Isaiah, upon receiving a vision of the Almighty on His throne.  No man can look directly upon His blinding radiance and live.*

Jesus came to reveal God’s glory, cloaked though it was in human flesh.  For a time, heaven and earth intersected in this One Perfect Life.  To see Jesus was to see the face of God.**  To know Him is to receive a promise of glory, like a bride-to-be wears a brilliant diamond engagement ring.

His glory can still be seen today.  It beams from a child’s glowing face.  It resonates down a rushing mountain stream.  It sparkles on specks of sunlit snow.  It shines through us when we mirror His heart.

And, for a brief moment, the veil is lifted.

One day we will see Him, face to face, in all of His glory.

But for now we can watch for and enjoy these glimpses, these glimmers of God.

*Exodus 33:18-23; Isaiah 6:1-8.  **John 1:14-18.