Often, as I’m preparing for bed, I listen to the Bible.  Last evening, as I put away some shirts and listened to II Corinthians 3, I was struck by the last verses.  When I say struck, I mean it.  It was as though the Holy Spirit whacked me on the back and said, “Girl, did you hear what I just said to you?”

Sitting down the clothes that were destined for the closet, I quickly, picked up the iPad to hear the verses again…then again and again.  I’m not sure how many times I listened. Fascinated, I wanted to grasped what the Lord desired for me to understand.

17 The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 Our faces, then, are not covered. We all show the Lord’s glory, and we are being changed to be like him. This change in us brings ever greater glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Remember the Old Testament story regarding Moses’ transformation when He was on the mountain with the Lord.  He face glowed.  Moses put a veil over his face so that the people could not see the glory of the Lord.  Later, he kept the veil because he didn’t want the people to see the glory as it faded.  I was transfixed by verse 18.  It was clear that God was saying that the Lord’s glory now shines through us.

However, He goes further.  He says that we are being changed to be like him, and these changes bring ever greater glory.  My mother was a dynamic Christian.  As a young mother, I realized that people weren’t in her presence long before you recognized that there was something very different about this person.  Because Frances was my mother, it was difficult to see that she was any different than another person.  But it was never hard to recognize the remarkable effect she had on others during her later years.

I see the same glow in Christy who is blind and does not walk.  The radiance of the Lord is evident on tall and lanky Eric as he ambles into the room eager to begin Special Gathering choir or anxious to help set up the sound equipment.  This glow cannot be faked or imitated.  It cannot be earned because it is a reflection of God’s glory shining through the eyes and actions of his people.

While this great promise has been taught, I must confess that I never took it personally until I was almost physically struck down by the Lord.  “This is your promise,” I understood the Father to say to me.  His reasurance was particularly comforting to me because I’ve recently found it necessary to face some ugly flaws in my character.  Almost overcome by the accusations coming from the enemy of our souls, I’ve wondered how I could have known the Lord all these decades and still miss the blatant contractions in my character.

The Holy Spirit wasn’t excusing bad behavior; but He was not leaving me hanging on a clothes line being beaten by the wind, either.  I knew He was say, Yeah, there is a lot of work to be done but as you look to me, I will continue to change you into my image.  You are becoming more like me.  I praise God that He is doing the transforming work and my job is simply to obey and seek his face.