...that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened...

   - Ephesians 1.17, 18

Columba himself admitted to a few brothers who once questioned him closely, in some speculations made with divine favour the scope of his mind was miraculously enlarged, and he saw plainly, and contemplated, even the whole world as it were caught up in a ray of the sun.

   - Adomnán, Life of Columba, Irish, 7th century

There is more to see, more to know, than we have ever taken into our hearts or minds before. There are clearer and more compelling insights to be had of the divine truth of God’s Word, more brilliant and dazzling glimpses of Christ exalted in glory, and more awe-inspiring encounters with divine beauty and goodness than we’ve ever dared to ask, think, or hope.

Colum Cille (Columba) was gifted with what the ancients called “second sight.” So steeped in Scripture, so immersed in prayer and fellowship with the risen Christ, and so attentive to the world around him was he, that he “saw” more than most people see, for example, in a ray of sun. He saw mysteries where most men only saw creatures; he encountered glory where his contemporaries went blindly by; he communed with God while others merely worked or talked or frittered away their time.

Colum was a man of large mind and expansive heart because he was a man of true and profound faith.

We can see, know, and experience more than we do or ever have. But we must seek an enlarged vision if this is to be so. With the eyes of our hearts we penetrate to unseen mysteries, gathered up and sorted by our minds and longed for in our consciences. By faith we peer beyond the veil that separates time from eternity and enter into an unseen realm where all things declare, “Glory!” This is the real world, but it takes enlarged vision to see it, and enlarged vision is the product of deep meditation, long waiting in prayer, and earnest expectation and hope of the glory of God.

The whole world in a ray of sun – imagine!

Knowing that we can experience the glory of God in everyday situations, yet not caring to pursue that beyond mere head knowledge, surely this is not a condition with which to be satisfied. God is speaking to us, seeking to develop our vision of Him and the unseen realm in which He dwells. Let us plead with Him to create in us a stronger desire to know Him and to make His glory known to the world.

Psalm 19.1-4 (St. Christopher: “Beneath the Cross of Jesus”)
The heav’ns declare God’s glory; the skies His work proclaim.
From day to day and night by night they shout His glorious Name.
No speech, no words, no voice is heard, yet all across the earth
The lines of His all-present Word make known His holy worth.

Lord, open my eyes to see you throughout the course of this day. Let me glimpse Your glory in the everyday details of the mundane world around me.