Devotion - Wednesday, April 13

The appointed cycle of readings has me in Exodus 19.  For the past couple of days, I have been reading the events which build up to the giving of the Torah.  The people of God are at the base of Mt. Sinai.  God has come to the top of the mountain and has called Moses to come to join him there.  There is a cloud of smoke covering the mountain.  The people can see all this, and hear the thunder which is God's speaking to Moses.  But they are strictly forbidden to come up the mountain or even touch it.  

Wow!  What a scene!  Whatever Moses says when he comes down that mountain, one would be sure to hear and believe and follow.

If only God spoke so clearly to us, in our day.

In truth, the people did not listen, so faithfully, to what Moses shared.  It took some time, but not all that long, for them to abandon the commitments they will make when Moses comes back to share the Word of God with them.  They had seen this great sight, but they were not permanently changed.

It isn't the grandeur of an encounter which brings about real and lasting change.  It is something else.  It seems to have to do with the way in which the event is integrated into our hearts and into our lives.  I have seen persons changed and remade through encounters which others might consider sight or questionable.  Again, it is the value one places upon the encounter which seems to indicate the effect it will have.

God does come to you.  God does speak to you.  If you are looking for mountains covered in smoke, you are likely to miss the Word when it is spoken.  If, however, you are listening, you are likely to hear God's voice in so many places.  Making ourselves available to God is where meaningful encounters with God begin.