Stare at the Son for Personal Transformation
DEVOTION • 2 Corinthians 3:18: “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”
Read time: 3 min
The good news of the glory of God in the human face of Jesus Christ is the content of an amazing mystery hidden in days past. This glorious reality was cloaked in Old Testament times, hinted at but vailed, anticipated and finally revealed in Jesus. And by beholding this glorious revelation of God in Jesus, we are being changed one step at a time by the Spirit into that glorious likeness of Jesus himself.
We Need Either a Veil or a Savior
The larger context of 2 Cor 3:18 suggests us that we would shrivel to dust under the beaming gaze of infinite holiness if it were not for God shining forth such glory through his Son (2 Cor 3:7–13). Israel had to place a veil over Moses’ beaming face when he descended Sinai after spending forty days with God. Yet we, somehow, can look without veil upon the radiant glory of Christ.
By nature, we are not fit to look upon the brilliance of our Creator. Their is—among other things—a moral chasm between us and the Transcendent One. And the problem is not God’s holiness but our fallenness. We are in desperate need of God and yet contact with him would destroy us. No man can stare into the face of God and live (Ex 33:20). We need either a vail or a Savior. In God’s grace He provided a Savior.
The Glory of Jesus
It is not that Jesus’ face is less glorious that we may look on him and not directly upon God. It is rather that Jesus is not only the manifestation of the glory of God but also our incarnate Redeemer and living Access to God. Jesus suffered and absorbed God’s wrath—tasted the pangs of death, was seared under the holy gaze of divine justice as he hung as a sacrifice—for our sins. In Jesus we have access to the glory of God, access to the God of glory.
How Staring Changes Us
We are meant to revel in the new light we have been shown and to reflect it onto others. We who are New Covenant believers have a degree of the radiance of God disclosed to us that of which the former ages could only see the fringes. We live in a day of massive hope in the final coming of Christ, being witnesses of his first, long-awaited advent. And so, we preach Christ. Not law, rules, and works, not complex philosophies. But with Paul, “Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech” (2 Cor 3:12). No veil, just glory.
Do you habitually fix your gaze upon triviality, violence, sensuality, and greed? If so, following this same principle, your heart is gravitating in those directions. However, as we behold Jesus in Scripture, we are gradually being changed by the Spirit into his likeness. This is the one time we are told to stare into the Son, and in staring become like him.
═❖═
Heavenly Father, help me to be starstruck by the glory of Jesus and transformed by it. Help me reflect his character to others. For through him, I have access to your grace and glory. Amen. ❖
