Scripture: 2nd Corinthians 3:17-18
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 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.
Thought for the Day: You are being transformed into the image of the Lord, and this transformation is happening at a steady progress – one step and then another and then another. It is the work of the Spirit within us that comes from a clear view of God’s glory – glory being understood as the essence of God which I can only assume is grace. A veil interferes with a person’s ability to fully perceive, and so often, grace is perceived as though looking through a veil. It leaves people with a short sided and incomplete understanding of grace. In fact, what they see through the veil is not grace. Instead, it is the old self-serving and judgmental and fear-based approach to religion. It is not about a relationship with God, but hoping that you might be able to appease God or fly under God’s radar. This is not what Paul wishes. In fact, he believe that an encounter with God’s glory (grace) causes the individual to begin to glow with that same glory and grace…assuming it has not been viewed through a veil.
Prayer: I wish to see your glory, the beauty of your grace, Lord. When something hangs over me like a veil, may your Spirit work to remove it even for a moment that I might glimpse again your breath-taking and transformative gift of unmerited love. Amen.
