A farmer friend of mine has a large bolder in the middle of one of his fields and had the great inconvenience of ploughing round it for about 20 years. This was the year he was going to get rid of it. He dug and dug and excavated until the rock wasn’t moving and he had a large hole in the middle of the field around it. By digging the hole, more of the boulder was exposed but like an iceberg about seven-eighths had been under the surface. How to get rid of it? He called for the help of his father, also a farmer who brought along heavy lifting tackle. As the machine was put into use, one chain snapped and then another. There is no end to this true story yet. The boulder remains in place, surrounded now by a large hole. Laughingly the use of dynamite was suggested; I hope it was a joke.
Is this a picture of our God? With our rose-tinted glasses we think we catch glimpse of Him through nature, the smile of a baby or the kindness of strangers. But do we see Him as He is, majestic, powerful yet tender and loving; the creator of the whole universe but caring about my tiny worries. When Moses met with God he had to cover his face with a cloth as the unbearable radiance of God shone through him. Psalm 29 tells us ‘The voice of the Lord is powerful.’ ‘The voice of the Lord is majestic.’