Son-rise

While attending an out-of-town wedding, my husband and I were treated to an unexpected, magnificent display of beauty.  Our hotel room faced the east side, and our bed was next to the window.  At 5:45 am we awoke to see the horizon "painted" in a deep reddish orange.  As time went on, the colors changed so that the skyline had a peach hew and the sky was dotted with peach-tinted clouds.  We watched the sky transform until the golden-orange sun began to rise from the horizon at 6:40 am.  As the sun traveled higher into the sky it turned a dazzling white and became so bright that we had a hard time looking at it directly. Eventually, the sun covered the earth with its warm light.
 
Habakkuk 3:4 tells us that the splendor of the Lord is "like the sunrise..."  He is described uniquely by Matthew, Mark and Luke in the passages titled "The Transfiguration."  Peter, James and John go with Jesus to the top of a mountain where they saw Moses and Elijah.  Mark describes what happened:
"...There He was transfigured before them.  His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them." (Mark 9:2-3) Here is Matthew's description:  "There He was transfigured before them.  His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light." (Matthew 17:2) Luke 9:28-29 says, "...He took Peter, John and James with him and went up onto a mountain to pray.  As He was praying, the appearance of His face changed, and His clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning." 
 
When I contemplated these verses and the way the sun rises in order to illuminate the earth, I remembered that the higher the sun rises, the more area it impacts.  By mid-morning the sun is high in the sky, and the land below is being warmed by its rays.  The same manifestation takes place when the Son of God is lifted high.  The higher we raise Him, the more impact He has.
 
Do you want to impact the world around you for the Kingdom of God?  We can do this by lifting Jesus high.  How do we do this?  Worship! Exalt the Lord! Here are some admonitions from King David in the Psalms:  "Exalt the Lord our God, and worship at His holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy." (Psalm 99:9) "So the name of the Lord will be declared in Zion and His praise in Jerusalem when the peoples and the kingdoms assemble to worship the Lord," (Psalm 102:21-22) "Be exalted, O God, above the heavens, and let your glory be over all the earth." (Psalm 108:5)
 
We can partner with God in changing the world around us by exalting the Lord.  As we lift Him high in worship, the rays of His glory shine down on us to transform us so that we become glory carriers, changing the atmosphere wherever we go.