Day 241

Job 31:1–33:33; 2 Corinthians 3:1-18; Psalm 43:1-5; Proverbs 22:8-9

IN OUR READING from 2 Corinthians today, Paul discussed veils as a way of contrasting the old covenant law that originated with Moses and the new covenant revealed through Jesus.

The law had been given to Moses in glorious fashion, in part because the people were afraid to hear directly from God (Exodus 20:18-21). Moses climbed Mount Sinai to meet with God on their behalf. When he descended the mountain, his face shone with God’s glory. This caused more fear among the people, so he put a veil over his face (Exodus 34:35). For Paul, looking through a veil represented the way people had viewed the law ever since. He explained it like this:

The people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ.

For Paul, the law continually pointed out how people were failing, while Jesus’ ministry and redemptive work revealed how we can be free from these failings and become righteous before God.

What makes this compelling is the way Paul began painting a picture of what life might look like if we weren’t looking through a veil any longer:

Whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.

Although this is a famous passage of Scripture, the implications are astounding. To fathom their meaning, we need look no further than Psalm 139:

I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I go down to the grave, you are there.

If freedom exists wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, and we cannot find ourselves away from God’s Spirit, then freedom is perpetually available. When the veil is removed, we can see and experience this continually.

Knowing that we are truly released from sin and eternally free is indeed astounding. And we now understand that any time we are not experiencing this freedom, we’re choosing to look through a veil. But Paul wasn’t finished astounding his readers, because such freedom has effects of its own:

So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord —who is the Spirit —makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.

This one verse gives us the context for our lives. Once we see clearly what God has done —once the veil is removed —we can see and freely reflect the glory of the Lord on the earth. This is certainly good news. But it is also a picture of how humanity was always meant to be. When we live in this freedom and reflect God’s glory, we are being made godlike —or as Paul put it, we are being made “more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.”

Think about that for a second.

This idea of becoming godlike can be a bit disruptive. But it’s far less disruptive when the veil has been removed. Why is it a stretch to consider that we are being made like God —that we are perpetually moving forward as we are swept away by the winds of mercy and grace? Isn’t becoming like Christ the essential purpose of our faith? Weren’t human beings made in the likeness of God when we were created? Isn’t the work of Christ in our lives sanctifying us and restoring us to union with God?

To be godlike (or like God) certainly doesn’t mean we are becoming God. But Paul is describing a humanity that is restored to what it was intended to be. We no longer need a law to point out our sin and failure, because it is no longer a part of our story through Jesus. Rather, we are restored to who we were meant to be —beings created in the image of God who are being made whole and can reflect the glory of the Lord on earth.

How will having the veil removed change the story you’re telling today?

PRAYER:

Send out your light and your truth; let them guide me. Let them lead me to your holy mountain, to the place where you live.