Getting our shine on

Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.” –Exodus 33:18 (NIV)

Moses had been walking with God for a while by this point. He trusted God. God had given him assignments and assurances. But Moses wanted more. So he asked for it. And God honored his request! Knowing the full force of His Being would overwhelm the human senses, God created a scenario where Moses did, in fact visibly see the King of the Universe.

God does not hide. He does not come on so strong as to leave mankind with no choice, as He never wants our affection for Him to be coerced. But He desires to be known, and loves to provide glimpses of Himself to those who seek Him.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. –John 1:14 (NIV)

Then there came a day when God revealed Himself in a way He had never done before. He visited humanity in the form of a human, fully vulnerable to the aches, pains, heartbreaks, and temptations of a fallen world. Yet, when Jesus traveled the streets and backroads of Galilee, Samaria, and Judea, mothers could call to their little ones, “Come quickly, my child! Look and see the face of our God!”

The glory of God was never more evident than in Jesus’ power over sin and death. Guilt, extinction, and the threat of eternal separation from God and good and life were the constant companions of humans until He came. The raising of Lazarus was a foreshadowing of the game-changing truth: Death will never again have the final word!

Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” –John 11:40 (NIV)

Mary and Martha believed. And they saw. And they would continue to see. Finally, they would start to become. For God has given us an assignment, no less than the tasks He gave Moses, Lazarus, and countless others. He wants to show off His glory in us.

Because of His Spirit inside us, our eternal life starts here. Now. Not later. Not someday. Not when we get to heaven. Yes, Jesus will return to set all things right, completing the work He started when He came the first time. In the meantime, we are being transformed into His image, so we can be about the business of shining. This isn’t as hard as it sounds. Like Moses, who could not keep the glory of God from literally radiating off his face as he came back down the mountain, the world will begin to notice the difference in us when we have been in the presence of the Father. Time to get our shine on!

And we all, who with unveiled faces reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. –2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)