#221 Reflections

29 When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. 30 When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him. 31 But Moses called to them; so Aaron and all the leaders of the community came back to him, and he spoke to them. 32 Afterward all the Israelites came near him, and he gave them all the commands the Lord had given him on Mount Sinai.

33 When Moses finished speaking to them, he put a veil over his face. 34 But whenever he entered the Lord’s presence to speak with him, he removed the veil until he came out. And when he came out and told the Israelites what he had been commanded, 35 they saw that his face was radiant. Then Moses would put the veil back over his face until he went in to speak with the Lord. Exodus 34:29-35 NIV

In my life, there were men that I utterly despised, for they carried with them the laws of God, and they pressed, seemingly hard, the point that I was a transgressor. I had never met these men, but I knew the fiends that they must be, antiquated old men with an antiquated reading of Bible. They were not modern, nor did they care, all they seemed to fear was not spending enough time in the Word or not saying what God had said. When I met them in person, and it has been very few people that I can say this of, I was convicted and disarmed. They disagreed with me, but they didn't hate me. They were busy but they made time for me. I expected cigar store Indians, but as I scrutinized them, they did not carry that manufactured stoicism that I have come to know in corporations. Theirs was a love of God and patience for the lost that I had not known. I would much rather go fishing than listen to the bashing that these men so often received. I would much rather be left alone, and yet here it was, they prepared yet again, they humbled themselves once more. They pulled over the veil, hiding anything that may lead to arrogance, they gave without the recipient knowing from whence it came. These men did not run from insults or injury, but returned it with the kindness of the truth. I suspected they would have no emotion, but it was only because my arguments were founded in them. They were not without, but rather blessed with emotions that sprang forth from the truth. There is a counterfeit to this that tells people what they want to hear rather than what they need. It builds up the teller and attempts tear down God's decree. It makes me look great, sound caring and fit in with society as the cool Christian, but it is the exact opposite of what it claims to be. It tries to have a shining face, practices a sincere smile, but it is not the reflection of God, and it is not love as it proclaims. It is a mask with a shiny face painted on it. I have grown to love the other one, the one I hated, the one that reflects the image of Christ.

…17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.18But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:17&18