"Faith is my Life!" #2

Living by faith is a huge daily opportunity and challenge for all of us. Here's why:

• We live in a dual reality that is both physical (what is around us 24/7/365), and spiritual (what we can't see, touch, hear etc.)
• The two will eventually collide in every person's life because faith will be challenged by a present, surprising reality
• Faith is often illogical and may not make much sense when it collides with physical reality, in fact if it did always make sense, it wouldn't really be faith
• The ability to "see" what you can't "see" is a learned discipline because living by faith is a choice we must intentionally make,
• God knew this would happen so he sent the Holy Spirit to be our Comforter.

In the Old Testament, when Moses went up on Mt Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments written in stone by the very finger of God, something remarkable occurred. As God spoke with him, his face began to reflect the glory of God. When he came down from that encounter, he carried the two tablets of stone and his face glowed with the "shekinah", the glory of God. But, the glory was beginning to fade so Moses put a veil over his face to speak God's words to the Israelites.

 

Paul refers to this incident to make a point about Living by Faith with the help of the Holy Spirit:

 

"Now if the ministry that brought death (those Ten Commandments), which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness. For what was glorious (Moses' face) has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts. THEREFORE, since we have such a hope, we are very bold." 2 Cor 3:7-12 NIV

 

But he isn't finished, he's just warming up. Keep reading:

 

"Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being changed (transformed) into his likeness with ever increasing (degrees of) glory which comes from the Lord who is the Spirit." 3:17-18

 

Now, take a deep breath and just let that sink in for a moment. He's talking about YOU and ME and every person who is being transformed by the glory of Jesus Christ, everyone who is walking with Jesus as a living breathing representative of the "shekinah" of God. Is that way more information than you wanted to know? Wonderful! Your faith has collided with your reality of life. But, don't start getting nervous or fearful, rejoice that through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, you can actually become the true reflection of Jesus in your world. HALLELUJAH!

 

Hear Paul again as he concludes his train of thought and instruction:

 

"THEREFORE (any time you see this word in scripture, pay attention to what it's 'there for') since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not distort the word of God." 4:1-2

 

So here it is in a nutshell:

God has commissioned his Spirit to train each of us to become a replica, actually the Greek word also means a statue, of his One and Only Son and reflect his glory in our world. The Spirit does this in what should be thought of as "ever increasing degrees" of transformation. We are at different stages in this process but rest assured, God is at work in your life every day. Unlike the "glory" that shone from Moses' face, the glory God has given you will NOT fade but only grow brighter. HALLELUJAH!

 

Until next time, go on about your life and be God's glory!