Here is a beautiful post from my friend Brandi Hignight. Be sure to read about her in the “About” section of the blog.  Enjoy!

“Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.”  2 Corinthians 3:16-18 (MSG)

I love that it says that God removes the veil and they are face-to-face.  Then they realize He is a “living personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone.”

The verses about unveiled faces are just so beautiful and picturesque, because I can picture a groom removing the veil from the face of his bride.  Beautiful, powerful language, isn’t it?

Then after that powerful illustration, the verses go on to reference the transfiguration.  The gospels describe sunlight pouring from His face and His clothes being filled with light.

After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.  There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. 3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.  Matthew 17:1-3 

That is what becoming in His likeness means as “He enters our lives and we become more like Him.”

To think that He did that for us.

Note from Rachel:

These verses have been such a blessing to me this week.  Oh, how I take for granted the great privilege of this face-to-face access I have with the God of all creation.  The cost of this incredible gift was paid in blood through the sacrifice of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.  To think that He loves us so much that He would DIE in order to have that kind of relationship with us.  Wow!

I want to share a couple of things that stood out to me in these powerful verses.  First, if we want that kind of face-to-face relationship with Him, we must “turn to face God as Moses did.”  We have to get into His presence, talk to Him and listen to Him.  We have got to make TIME for Him.

Often turning to Him requires that we turn away from other things that vie for our attention.

Another thing that was so cool to me is that we cannot be in His presence and it not affect/change us. Verse 18 says, “our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.”

He causes us to shine brighter.  He makes us more beautiful. We become more like Him.

Pastor Steven Furtick says, “We become what we behold.”

We BECOME what we BEHOLD! 

Let’s make time to behold Him today.

We have unveiled access.

Incredible.