Do you wear a veil??

Do you wear a veil? More on 2 Corinthians 3—the end.

I’ve been thinking more about the veil . . . in my last briefing, I referenced Exodus 34, and I should like to take you there again.

Stand with me and follow Aaron’s gaze, as he looks to see the familiar figure of his brother, Moses, coming down Mt. Sinai. Forty days Moses had been alone with God, as God again gave him the precious Ten Commandments . . . he
was seen on the horizon. As he got closer, Moses’ face
was so bright, it fairly shone--it stung the eyes just to look at him! Moses
took to wearing a veil, which shielded the holiness of God’s reflection.

It is interesting to note that when Moses continued his conversations with God, he removed the covering, unveiling himself to God. Moses
wanted to be known by God . . . he wanted to be totally present, and
humble before God. *Numbers 12.3 actually cites that
“Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth.”

Do you think there was a link between his authenticity before God and his humility?

When you and I are willing to be totally real with God, we see ourselves in light of his holiness, rather than looking from the right or to the left, comparing ourselves to
those around us, which is of no value whatsoever.

Paul wrote that the veil remained when the Law was read (2 Corinthians 3.14); only one thing would remove the veil—Jesus, the Christ.

Paul saw in Moses’ experience far beyond what you and I do—you see, Paul was familiar with the transaction himself. We remember that
when first we met Paul, his greatest ambition was to eradicate
Christianity. His entire life revolved around the Old Covenant, the Law. He
was a prestigious Jew, educated under the most highly regarded rabbi of
the day, Gamaliel, and privileged to be a Roman citizen as well. All
that changed on the Damascus Road one day. He was knocked
to the ground and blinded by an inexplicably bright shining light from Heaven,
and directly confronted by Jesus Christ (Acts 9). The
blindness remained until God saw fit to remove the scales from his eyes.

*It seems the Lord had to literally make him blind to show him how truly blind he was—to God’s grace, and to God’s plan for his life. (It often takes a lot for God to get my
attention too…you?)

When Paul responded to Jesus, Scripture says the scales fell from Paul’s eyes. When Paul turned his gaze toward Jesus, God removed the veil. And
then, when Paul SAW, he not only became the first missionary, but
arguably the second greatest teacher ever to inhabit the planet.

We have the benefit of 2,000 years of biblical scholarship and interpretation, established church history, and yet many of us still have a veil in front of our faces. We fail to
see where God is working because we have our own agendas--veils before
our eyes. We want to operate in wholeness, and yet past
pain keeps us blinded, and we deceive ourselves, thinking we are mature. We
want to be authentic, and yet fear of rejection keeps us bound to
keeping up appearances. We fancy ourselves spiritually
evolved, and yet religiosity keeps us from true relationship with the
Lover of our souls. Oh, that we would be able to ‘see’,
with eyes wide open what the Spirit has for us, in him, so that we will
not have to be blinded, in order to ultimately see.

Do you wear a veil? Don't let anything come between you and God.

Christine