Shining Faces

Whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. . . . 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.

2 Corinthians 3:16, 18

In today’s verses, Paul is alluding to the experience of Moses in Exodus 34:29-35. When he came down from Mount Sinai after being in the Lord’s presence, he “did not know that the skin of his face shone because of his speaking with Him” (Exodus 34:29, NASB). The presence of the Lord was so radiant that Moses’ skin reflected his glory. If the sun’s radiance can produce changes in our complexion, then surely the glory that outshines the sun could do so.

The presence of God so marked Moses that he had to wear a veil over his face or the people were afraid to come near him. The glory of the Lord was veiled to them. “But whenever Moses went in before the LORD to speak with Him, he would take off the veil until he came out” (Exodus 34:34, NASB).

Paul has just made the case that the glory of God is still veiled to unbelievers. But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. We can be in the Lord’s presence with unveiled faces. Moses was changed on the outside, but we are changed on the inside. The Lord’s presence with us is in us. He so transforms us by his presence in us that we reflect his image more every day.

Do you long for those around you to see God? Just let him reflect himself through your life. Let your life radiate the presence of God.

Lord, let my life mirror yours.

The man who gazes upon and contemplates day by day the face of the Lord Jesus Christ, and who has caught the glow of the reality that the Lord is not a theory but an indwelling power and force in his life, is as a mirror reflecting the glory of the Lord.

Alan Redpath(1907–1989), English evangelist, pastor, and author