“We all with unveiled faces are reflecting the glory of the Lord and
are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory; this is from the
Lord Who is the Spirit” (2Corinthians 3:18). The desire of God for us is to
continue to gaze at His face daily. This is not as much as a physical thing
but spiritual; meaning a daily preoccupation with God Almighty. As we do this,
we are transformed into the same image we behold. This shows us that whatever
we gaze at continually, we begin to spiritually transform into.
On each day, as
humans, we are preoccupied with one thing or the other and our hearts set on a
particular goal even if most times some of us can’t articulate what it is.
Everything we do is geared towards advancing towards that which we hold dear in
our hearts. No wonder David by the Holy Spirit declared: “I have asked one thing from the Lord; it is what I desire; to dwell in
the house of the Lord all the days of my life, gazing on the beauty of the Lord
and seeking Him in His temple” (Psalm 27:4). This talks about the heart of
David and his desire to be daily preoccupied with the thoughts of God! Beloved,
if Jesus Christ is our daily focus, then as we gaze at Him constantly and
consistently through His Word, we not only begin to look like Him, but every
other thing fades away. However, when we are preoccupied with the rat-race of
making money or getting more money, getting more fame, greatness etc, we begin
to take on the image of these things even though we profess Christ. For
instance, when Naaman, the commander of the Syrian Army came to see Prophet
Elisha for prayers of healing and deliverance from his leprosy, all Gehazi, the
servant of Prophet Elisha saw was the gifts (wealth) he could gain from him. To
Gehazi, Naaman was a walking and talking ‘money’, and he missed the
important message of hope and miracle that God was passing across at the time.
This glory being talked about now is not a physical one as so many erroneously
believe! Sadly, today God’s glory on a man is equated with how deep his pockets
are and the influence he carries! When Jesus walked the earth as man, the
demons recognized Him as the Son of God, not His bodily form mind you, but the
glory He carried! No wonder, Apostle John in his first epistle, by the Holy
Spirit declared “Beloved, we are [even here
and] now God’s children; it is not yet disclosed (made clear) what we shall be
[hereafter], but we know that when He comes and is manifested, we shall [as God’s
children] resemble and be like Him,
for we shall see Him just as He [really] is” (1John 3:2, AMP). The Bible
says about Jesus Christ, He is Light, and in Him there is no darkness: “Life was in Him, and that life was the
light of men. That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not
overcome it” (John 1:4-5). He went on to tell us that we are the light of
the world, meaning, as a true child of God, the glory can be seen by demons (Matthew
5:16). At this point, He wasn’t talking to the multitude, but He was talking to
as many as chose to follow Him (Disciples) up the mountain to sit at His feet and learn (Matthew 5:1).
Beloved, whatever we gaze at, if we are honest with ourselves, we become
preoccupied with. If we continually gaze at it, all our waking and even
sleeping moments will be preoccupied with it. Being preoccupied with a thing
means the thing tactically dominates our minds to the exclusion of other
thoughts. Now, when this happens, the thing we are preoccupied with begins to
influence other areas of our lives. Thus, when the Bible says “unveiled faces”
in 2Corinthians 3:18, it means a face (heart) that is totally preoccupied by
the glory he is seeing (Remember Moses?). “Seeing”, because such continues,
without wavering to gaze at the image set before him. What is set before you,
Beloved, is it fear, feelings of insecurity, money, fame, ungodly ambitions or
inordinate passions? Whatever it may be, it will begin to affect your reasoning
and every aspect of your life!
Finally, Beloved, if the object of your gaze is other
than Jesus Christ, don’t make any excuses, but return your gaze to Him. These
other things, you may have for awhile, but are not permanent to see you through
to the end of the ages. Why not gaze on Him Who is All in All – all that you
desire are encompassed in Him and will come into your life as He has promised
and purposed: “All things are done
according to God’s plan and decision; and God chose us to be His own people in
union with Christ because of His own purpose, based on what He had decided from
the very beginning. Let us, then, who were the first to hope in Christ, praise
God’s glory” (Ephesians 1:11-12, GNB)! Hallelujah! God bless you as you fix
your gaze on Him and are preoccupied with His thought!
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