9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.
-Luke 2:9-
Any real encounter with God would have to include the glory of God. Do you remember of the shepherds in the fields outside Bethlehem when angels appeared and announced the birth of the coming Messiah?
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear (Luke 2:8, 9).
When Moses had an encounter with God, he asked that God would show His glory.
21 And the Lord said, “Behold, there is a place by me where you shall stand on the rock, 22 and while my glory passes by I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and I will cover you with my hand until I have passed by (Exodus 33:21, 22).
The glory of God was so marvelous that when God touched Moses with his glory, God had to shield Moses with His hand to protect him. The word glory is found 194 times in the Old Testament, 191 times in the New Testament.
When I think of the glory of God, especially relating to the marvel of Christmas, I am reminded of the tradition of the Filipino people every Christmas time. In the Philippines as early as September, Filipinos will start decorating their houses and offices and malls and every building and schools with Christmas lights and lanterns, Christmas Trees and other Christmas decorations. People will be awed to witness the vastness of the wonderful Christmas display.
The glory of God is much like that. With our human inadequacies, our vision dimmed by the selfishness of our old nature, we can only begin to fathom the glory of God as the Holy Spirit opens our eyes to this marvelous encounter with the Divine.
Look forward for the Season of celebrating the birth of Christ and have the expectation of having the possibility of being touched by God’s glory.

A blessed Christmas to all.
Pastor Gideon