Scripture:
So, since we have such a hope, we act with great confidence. We aren’t like Moses, who used to put a veil over his face so that the Israelites couldn’t watch the end of what was fading away. But their minds were closed. Right up to the present day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. The veil is not removed because it is taken away by Christ. Even today, whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their hearts. But whenever someone turns back to the Lord, the veil is removed. The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Lord’s Spirit is, there is freedom. All of us are looking with unveiled faces at the glory of the Lord as if we were looking in a mirror. We are being transformed into that same image from one degree of glory to the next degree of glory. This comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Consider:
There is a lot of historical debate about the relationship between the Old Testament and the New Testament - even centering around the question of whether Old Testament and New Testament are the right names by which we should refer to these stories! A full outlay of those debates is beyond the scope of this devotion (and is probably exceedingly boring and confusing!), but it is important to recognize the question at its heart. If Jesus came and created a new covenant for all people, how should we look at and understand the Old Testament. Opinions vary from “not at all important” to “vital and really important and you should do everything it says to do.”
This is one of those few occasions where picking the middle answer is probably right.
Paul here talks about the light which shown over the Hebrew people on Mt. Sinai, the one which illuminated their relationship with God as being law based. This is the “veil” he talks about Moses wearing. Paul understood the law as serving an important, but faded purpose, because it helped reveal who God was in relationship to the chosen people while also defining what their responsibilities were to God.
After Jesus, this veil was no longer needed, because now the Spirit gives the light which defines who are we are as God’s chosen people. It was no longer the law which gave us identity, but Jesus’ claim on our lives.
We so often chose the limits, the guardrails, of the law because grace leaves us uncertain. Who are we if we don’t have clear boundary lines over who is in and out? Grace leaves us feeling so … uncertain.
Jesus’ light shines on us without filter. This allows the gift of seeing our identity and value through that lens - the one of unconditional love and grace. Our value is not assigned by how well we follow the rules, but how fully we can see God loves us. So let the love of God shine on you, unfiltered and free.
Respond:
How do you find yourself limiting God’s grace on your life? We often try to set up rules, ones which allow us to cast judgement on ourselves and others so we know if we (or they) are “in” or “out”. If God’s grace is the defining factor of your value, how would your attitude towards yourself change?
Pray:
God of light, help me to see myself as you see me, a child of the light. Lift the veil from my view which limits how well I can see myself or others, so that I may more fully bask in your glory. Amen.
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