Radiance

I’ve never seen a sky like that before in all my life. I should have stopped the car and used my cell phone to capture the beauty. I wouldn’t have believed it myself later, except my daughter witnessed it too. 

The sky was lightly crimson because it was sunset, but not just crimson—yellow. The sun should have been low, but it was still high enough to be imposing. There were clouds covering the sun, but, the clouds were peeled back from the center reminding me of outstretched arms. Through the opening (and we’ve all seen it) were golden rays falling down to earth, yet not quite reaching the earth.  

A very dear man died last week, a Christian man who lived and worked a long time for God (with his wife) through his church—the same church where I grew up; the same little country church where my husband and I raised our children. Last Wednesday, I went to this man's visitation. On the way home, I saw a sky that took my breath away.

Later I wondered, did God peel back the cloudy sky and allow the sun rays to pour down to earth to symbolically welcome Tom home—to heaven? If that sky was even a hint of God’s Glory, I’ll be holding my breath a lot when I see God face to face.

“Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him.

This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.” Ezekiel 1:28 (NIV)


Scripture source: Bible Gateway