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Thursday, May 02, 2013

Contemplating God's Glory

unveiled faces god's gloryAnd we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Cor 3:18

Glory is self-replicating.

It is impossible to encounter the glory of God without being changed.

Perhaps that is why we often shrink from prayer.

Our God is a consuming fire (Heb 12:29) and fire is comforting and warming just so long as we maintain a safe distance. So much of the time, when we come to God in prayer, we remain superficial, as though we are conducting some kind of business transaction.

Maybe we offer a few words of praise, admit some minor fault, say a polite "thank you" for answered prayer and bring some more problems which need solving. The whole exercise is quite pleasant, But we have not allowed The Lord's fiery gaze to burn into our soul.

And yet, if there is going to be any genuine transformation we need to take time to develop a deep intimacy with God.

One of my favourite quotes on prayer is from Andrew Murray:

Take time in the inner chamber to bow down and worship; and wait on Him until He unveils Himself.

But Paul tells us that we too need to unveil our faces.

It is as dangerous as playing with fire but that is when we begin to become Christ-like and to reflect the glory of God to the world.

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