In awe...

In January of 2005, I took a trip to Scotland to visit a friend and stayed in London for a couple days on the way back. It was a great opportunity to visit the British Museum, which is world renowned. I prepared myself before the trip with reading up on what was in the museum. I heard it was huge; and I am not interested in everything so I wanted to be able to see items of interest, having limited time. The schematic was impressive a large structure, known as the reading room, actually inside the Museum proper. When I stepped inside the Museum, this room was the first placed I stopped, not as much planned as drawn. I stepped inside the room and saw more books in one place than I think I have seen altogether in my lifetime. I was in awe, three stories of books around the walls of a huge (football field size) oval-shaped room. I'll admit it--I love books. I was overwhelmed with what I was seeing; I just stood there and looked around for about 20 minutes.

My thoughts were directed to the Scripture and John's gospel: "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written" (John 21:25, NASB). This is the closest that I have come to that context: a world full of the account of what Jesus did. Yet, I was standing in one room, so small in comparison to the world. This gave me just a glimpse at the greatness and glory of Jesus Christ.

Also, that beloved hymn of the church, the Love of God, came to my mind: "Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made, were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade, to write the love of God above, would drain the ocean dry. Nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky. O love of God, how rich and pure! How measureless and strong! It shall evermore endure the saints' and angels' song."