Removing the Veil


Scripture:

2 Corinthians 3:18

And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.

Observation:

The Holy Spirit has the power to remove the veil from our faces. Now, we are invited into a face to face relationship with our Lord. His glory is reflected in our lives as we draw closer to him. We are ever drawn closer to him, step by step, and glory by glory. There is never an end to the journey with our Lord as we are transformed into a reflection of him.

Application:

Remember when the bride used to walk down the aisle with her face covered in a veil? There was something about the moment when the veil was pulled back to reveal the beautiful bride, face to face with her groom. The church is the bride of Christ and yet when we read these words of Paul we realize that there had been a veil that had separated God from his people. In the Old Testament the glory of God was too much for the Israelites and so they asked Moses to cover his face his face with a veil. They looked upon God through a veil and this remained, creating a divide between the bride and the bridegroom. But just as the veil is removed from the face of the bride, so Christ has come to remove the veil. We are invited to look lovingly upon him in all his glory.

Sadly, the Israelites wanted the veil. The light of God's glory was too bright for them to bear, and maybe it shone too brightly on the wickedness of their lives. But now the Holy Spirit has come and can remove the veil...but only if we allow it to be removed. It could be that we find ourselves within the camp of the Israelites, satisfied with a practice of religion that does not challenge us to look God in the face. Just as it would never make sense for a bride to spend her entire life with her face veiled away from her beloved, so it doesn't make sense for God's people to veil themselves away from him. God's plan or desire for his children is that they would be holy and reflect his holiness. With the veil on there is a faint resemblance of his glory, but not much. Jesus can only be reflected when the veil is totally and completely removed.

Are we living a veiled Christianity? The unveiled beauty of Jesus' glory may be a bit overwhelming but it is also transforming. His desire is for us to be ever transformed to become more like him from one glory to the next. This begins with a deeper walk with Christ, where the veil is removed, and then an on-going journey throughout the rest of our lives. The bride, ever united to the groom in a life of constant fidelity.

Prayer

Lord, please continue to draw me close to you and never to allow a veil to cover the things that I find uncomfortable in my own life. Amen.

If you would like to read more "Reflecting the Image"  click on the image to take you to the NPH bookstore.The book is also available in Kindle format on Amazon.com.


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