Come Out of that Veil

I feel like the church has been shrouded in a veil.  It is as if we were too much for the world and so instead of just being the radiant life of Christ in a dark place we just threw a robe over the church so that her brilliance doesn't offend. We don't stand out because we don't want to.  When Moses came down off the mountain after visiting with God his face was so brilliant the people were afraid of him, so he wore a veil. The people couldn't handle the glory of God and so Moses had to hide his face.  He had seen God and he was changed, but his change was too much for an unbelieving Israel. His change was better left hidden.  

We have seen God. We have beheld him in holy places where He has met with us and drawn us into intimacy with Himself. Can you think of moments when you just spent time in God's presence? Can you think of a time when He was so clearly evident that you just knew if you moved around too much you would bump into Him?  Instead of risking running into a Holy God you just got down on your face and laid there, holy and still in His presence, soaking in the heat of His fire.  I have been in that place. I have been in those holy moments with God and I am grinning ear to ear just thinking about them. I love to be there, I live to be there. But then there is this morning when the world is dark and I sit here at my computer. Is this a holy moment? Is this a moment where I will wear a veil on my face to hide the lingering evidence that I belong to Jesus?  I've got to come out from that veil. Dear sister, you have to come out from that veil.  "Those who look to the Lord are radiant, their faces are never covered with shame (ps 34:5)".  Shame is not the facade we wear, we wear radiance.

But the veil is so easy, if you were to just go about with the radiance of Christ looming before you people would think you odd.  It is actually more than that isn't it?  If we were really honest with ourselves we would see that our veil has many more names that just shame.  We cover our true identities because we don't know our true identities.  We wear shame because we don't know at the depths of who we are that we are beautiful. We had been told for so long that we are too much, not enough, we don't have anything to contribute. We are selfish, lazy, not articulate, not outgoing enough, too outgoing, we are abandoned, rejected. We have been told lies, sweet sisters, we have been believing lies. I think one of the most pervasive lies is that you really are not that significant.  You don't have much to offer, just blend into the crowd.  Don't stand out, don't shine.  If you draw attention to yourself you will be rejected. People won't like what they see. You will be found wanting.  So we wear the veil. It is safe under the veil. If you can't really see me, then you can't really reject me. If I hold back long enough, I will lose perspective of what I am holding back. I will begin to believe the face I project to the world. I will believe I am not that special.

2 Corinthians 3:18 says
And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate^[a] the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

Sweet friends, it is our unveiled face that reveals the glory of the Lord. It is your fullness revealed that shows the world that God is real, He is alive. He is living inside you and inside the church. He makes us radiant.  It is time to throw off the veil of shame. It is time to throw off the deception that you are not good enough for Jesus.  He has transformed you, and is still transforming you. He has chosen to make you a living temple of His presence. We have to let Him out!  Don't throw a veil on the beauty that the living God has chosen to use to show off His glory. Don't hide any more.  You be in Christ. You begin to believe that you are indeed that royal priesthood and holy nation, that woman belonging to God. You begin to believe that Jesus has called you out of darkness and into light. He has called you daughter, son...  He has called you by name.  

Look to the Lord and you will be radiant. Shame will not be your mask any more. It was at one time, dear friend, you wore shame because it belonged to you. It was yours and you earned it by the blood sweat and tears of your own sin. But can you just see Jesus today, leaning over your hunched shoulders, looking straight into your beautiful eyes, seeing you behind your mask?  His hands are raised today, cupping your cheeks, removing the mask.  He already took that mask upon himself and he has hidden it in the deepest oceans as far from you as the east is from the west. I can sense him over me in this moment,   saying "Judy, come out of the veil". I want to show the world around that I am loving and kind. I want to show that I am real and relevant, still moving, still on my throne and yet close by you.  I want to show them Jesus through you.