When we kids were having troubles, Mom used to say, "The sun is still shining." We all have our cloudy days, and for those days it's interesting to think about clouds in the Bible.
After the Exodus from Egypt, "there was thunder and lightning, with a thick cloud over the mountain...The Lord descended to the top of Mount Sinai" (Exodus 19:16, 20). God came close to His people in that cloud, but by that cloud He protected them from seeing His glory. No one can see His glory and live (Exodus 3:20).
When Jesus took His disciples up to the Mount of Transfiguration, "a cloud appeared and covered them... A voice came from the cloud, saying, 'This is My Son, whom I have chosen. Listen to Him'" (Luke 9:34). The divine cloud tells us to hear the words of Jesus.
Today the Church remembers the Ascension of Christ. "He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight" (Acts 1:9). The divine cloud again! Jesus was taken into the glory of God, the glory He set aside when He came to earth with forgiveness, love and hope. Today the Church is drawn on by the words of the ascended One, "Christ in you, the hope of glory" (Colossians 1:27). Yes, "The sun is shining!"
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