Breaking out of the Clouds

I travel a lot, mostly by air. It is when I am flying that I am most aware of the beauty and majesty of clouds. I never get over the fascination of breaking out of the clouds. Ascending and descending through clouds gives me three perspectives.

On the ascent, breaking through the clouds can mean leaving a very gloomy day below and being reminded that the sun was shining all the time. It also symbolizes the beginning of the journey, the successful completion of traveling to the airport, navigating the security and check in lines and actually making it to my seat on time. I may as well settle in until we break through the clouds once again at our destination.

Penetrating the clouds means for a short time that nothing else can be seen but clouds. Objects below and things above disappear from sight.  We are traveling in a fog - symbolically and literally.

Breaking out of the clouds on the descent is a delight. On a trip to a new location, the scenery below is captivating because it gives me a bird's eye view of where I will be staying for awhile. Breaking through the clouds when returning home is the best yet. It is familiar and comforting.

No matter where I am - underneath the clouds, in the midst of them or above them - what I see is only one part of the big picture. When I can see the sun, but not the ground, it does not mean that the ground is not there. The reverse is also true. When only the ground is visible and the airplane has yet to break through the clouds to showcase the heavenly bodies, I am aware that the sun or the moon and stars are still there even when I can't see them. They haven't moved. I have.

I have talked to many people about Jesus. Some of them have come to understand that as God's Son, He gave His life for theirs and offers salvation as a free gift. In a sense, they have broken through the cloud of unbelief to see the Son of Man as He really is.

Others may have understood what I was saying, but refused His offer of grace. One person I know has yet to believe in Jesus because he said he could not prove He existed. This otherwise intelligent and nice man could accept the existence of other historical figures, but not Jesus, the most documented human being there is. I continue to pray that he will break through the cloud of unbelief that is fogging his thinking and come to accept Jesus as Lord.

Jesus not only lived in history, He always has been, is now and will always be God. I cannot see Him at the present with my eyes, but I see Him clearly with my heart. Those who do not see Him or have rejected Him will someday discover He was there all the time.

The clouds He created took Him out of sight for awhile, but will one day make Him visible to every one. For those who love Him, it will be a joyful experience.

And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on and a cloud received Him out of their sight (Acts 1:9). Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him (Revelation 1:7).