‘There is no record in the Bible of a vision that is simply to be enjoyed for its own sake. Word of God is the characteristic phrase, not vision of God for this very reason. For a Word is active: it is to be heard and obeyed. So it was with the young Isaiah’s vision in the Temple. He, too, as the vision faded, heard the voice: “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” And so it was with Paul. His dazzling vision ends with this cry from the cloud of darkness that descended on him: “Lord, what will you have me to do?” And the Word came: “Arise, and go into the city…”

David H C Read