Lord, show me the weight of your love today

The people struck their tents to cross the Jordan, with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant. 

Imagine that you are one of the people chosen to bear the ark.   For hours on end, you have been standing in the riverbed, shouldering the ark of the covenant as thousands of people pass by.   Estimates vary widely, but many scholars believe that the ark weighed between 300 and 400 pounds—and that was without the two tablets of the Law!   So if one of the people passing by were to ask you, “What is God like?” you might shout back, “He’s heavy!”

Actually, theologians really do speak of the “weightiness” of God.   In fact, the Hebrew word for glory, kabod, can also be translated as “weight.”   Of course, you can not measure God on a scale.   Instead, by weightiness they mean that all the intelligence, strength, glory, and mercy in the whole universe are infinitely concentrated within him.   God has no beginning, and he has no end.   As Creator, he holds up the entire cosmos with a single word.   As the “Lamb of God,” he is able to wipe away the sins of the whole world .

It’s no wonder that the angels and saints behold God’s majesty and throw themselves at his feet, proclaiming, “Give him glory” .

We earthlings can taste a little bit of God’s weightiness.   We can marvel at the vastness of the night sky.   We can stand on the ocean shore or beside a huge mountain and feel tiny in comparison.   We can look into the eyes of our children and discover God’s infinite riches and wonder.

Have you ever experienced the “weightiness” of God’s love for you?   It’s heavy enough to outweigh all of your anxieties and frustrations.   Even better, it’s unlimited.   Try to get a taste of this love, right now.   Be still.   See Jesus looking into your eyes with a smile and putting his hands on your shoulder.   Remember: these hands unfurled the galaxies!   They were also pierced for you.   What do you think he wants to say to you right now?   Do not be afraid to use your imagination.   He is with you right now, mighty in glory but tender in love.

word among us