At the beginning of the year, the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, scheduled its annual snowball fight…
Snow Day
…The date was set for Wednesday, January 15, 2020. Classes were cancelled for the day so students could wage war against each other. The students were instructed to show up at the University Mall on that Wednesday, divide themselves into two camps and await the command to “fire away.”
However, on the previous evening something happened to force the cancellation of that Wednesday’s big snowball fight. Vancouver suffered a huge snowstorm. That’s right. The snowball fight was cancelled due to too much snow.
Actually, the winter event wasn’t really cancelled. The university only postponed it by a day. Overall, this allowed time for the roads and sidewalks to be cleared so students could make their way to the Mall. Additionally, the one-day delay also allowed time for the temperature to rise so the snow could be easily compacted for making snowballs. As a result, The snowball fight took place on Thursday, January 16, with an unlimited supply of snow available for ammunition.
Awakening Power
Strange, that a snow-event should be cancelled due to too much snow. But such things happen. Too much snow can make a ski trail dangerous if conditions become ripe for avalanches. I’ve had white water rafting trips cancelled due to too much water after heavy rains. It makes a river far too swift and turbulent to negotiate – or to allow a rescue if the raft flips over. Sometimes nature reminds us that, although she allows herself to be enjoyed, she can quickly become far too much for us.
The same is true of nature’s Creator. Because our physical frames are so frail, God can only give us a measured amount of His Spirit and blessings. We may mistake this “measured amount” as all there is of God. But that would be the greatest miscalculation of our lives. No matter how much of God we experience, there will always be infinitely more.
Consider those biblical passages which describe the filling of the Tabernacle (Exodus 40:34-38) and of the Temple (2 Chronicles 7:1-3) with the God’s glory. Both houses were built so that God might dwell among His people (Exodus 25:8). The Tabernacle was sometimes referred to as “the tent of meeting” – i.e. it was the meeting place for God and His servants. But when the Tabernacle was first constructed and dedicated, the glory of God’s presence so filled it that not even Moses could enter it.
Intimate Glory
This was the same Moses who had spoken with God face to face and believed that he had already seen God’s glory (Exodus 33:18-23; 34:5-8). Yet now Moses was overpowered by a greater manifestation of that glory. Moses’ intimacy with God was such that his face shone with the glory of God when he returned to speak with Israel (Exodus 34:29-30). But on that day when God’s glory filled the Tabernacle, not even Moses was able to enter therein. The cloud of glory was too much, even for him. There is always more of God than we can imagine.
Do you remember the Gospel of John’s account of the Last Supper? There we find John, the beloved disciple, reclining to eat with the rest of the Apostles. It says that he leaned back on Jesus’ chest to ask him a question (John 13:23-26). John felt so at ease in Jesus’ presence that he could “be casual” around Him. Yet when Jesus appeared in glory to John many years later, John was so overcome by the glory of Christ that he fell at Jesus’ feet as a dead man (Revelation 1:17). Obviously, no matter how much of God’s power, love and presence we have experienced in this life, there is always infinitely more. The problem is that our frail forms and minds cannot handle much of God. The magnitude of His glory would kill us.
Overflow
But things will be different in heaven. In heaven, God will not only reveal more and more of Himself to us. He’ll also enlarge our capacity to behold, absorb, and enjoy His glory. “For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; but then shall I know, even as also I am known” (1 Corinthians 13:12).
As a result, this is why boredom is not possible in heaven. The more of God’s glory and majesty we behold and absorb, the more God will expand our capacity to enjoy even more. Whatever scenic beauty we might behold in this world – perhaps a western sunset, the Grand Canyon, the Swiss Alps, or the aqua blue ocean – it’s only a tiny foretaste of the beauty we shall yet behold. Whatever pleasures we’ve enjoyed in this life, the God who created them has infinitely more for us in heaven. And whatever peace, joy, and love we’ve ever known down here, there are infinitely higher levels to experience in God’s heavenly embrace above.
Therefore, pursue and take hold of that high calling for which God has taken hold of you. Don’t let any earthly pursuit or riches or fame distract you from the prize laid up for you in heaven by Him (Philippians 3:12-14).
PRAYER
Dear Father in heaven, please perfect the good work of salvation and sanctification You began in me. Make me hungry for more and more of Jesus. Make me excited about serving You and about giving to You what I cannot keep to gain what I cannot lose. Amen.
Photos:
–https://www.flickr.com/photos/soldiersmediacenter/6801058635/ (By US Army, Licensed under CC By 2.0)
–https://www.flickr.com/photos/marine_corps/38315703774/ (By Marines, Licensed under CC by NC 2.0)
–https://www.flickr.com/photos/marine_corps/9441713015/ (By Marines, Licensed under US Govt Work)
–https://www.flickr.com/photos/marine_corps/17024985498/ (By Marines, Licensed under US Govt Work)
(Information from: https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2020/01/16/Vancouver-universitys-snowball-fight-snowed-out-rescheduled/1321579201378/?sl=12)
