Experiencing God's Glory

When Heaven Comes Down by Che' Ahn
Experiencing God's Glory In Your Life

Being born and raised a Christian, I've often wondered if I've really had any close encounters with God. I've grown up in the church, been surrounded by Christian friends, attended Christian schools, been born-again, and I've actively pursued a relationship with Christ. With this, if I were to ever consider having any close intimacy in the way of manifested glory, the closest I've ever really come to this would be some hair standing on my arms with a feel of chills as I've worshipped in the sanctuary with others. But when it comes to my body jerking around, laughing uncontrollably, or speaking in tongues, I would have to say that I've never really experienced these kinds of emotions.


Sometimes, I'll feel God's presence when I feel like my decisions are being pulled a certain way or I have strong feelings to do something in particular. I've never particularly experienced any angelic encounters or fog rolling in to the sanctuary. This concept is very new to me and I've never really thought about this sort of thing happening to others very often. Perhaps, other believers have never really shared their experiences of manifested glory with me.

Nonetheless, the author has introduced me to the concept of God's glory as it is written in the scriptures. When I first began reading it, I will admit that I was waiting for the punchline, if you will, as he described his wife and daughter's "visitation of glory" at Mott Auditorium. However, I was interested in this new perspective on God's glory as described in this book. And I found myself interested in the stories of others that the author shared.

That said, I appreciated this perspective and interpretation of the Bible that I've never really heard talked about in church. The author himself mentions that "to judge these things by outward appearances alone can be misleading. It has left to much critcism from certain church groups (p.40). Part of me thought of some of the hokey religious shows that show people twitching and shaking on the floor as I read some of it. Even more, the author writes, "yet even though God's presence is within us, His presence can also come to us (p.36).

While I don't agree completely with his entire take on this subject, partly because I've never really experienced some of what he describes, I do find other parts of the book very right-on. I am interested in trying out some of his ideas to come closer to God. Also, I appreciate a book that does discuss a subject I've scarcely heard discussed.