I’m On Top of the World – pt 3
This is to finish up my message from this last weekend…
One of the things that can happen to us when we’re on the mountain is that we begin thinking that it’s always supposed to be like this, and we create a facade to make it look like everything is going good all of the time. But to get the most out of the mountain, we need to value and live in transparency.
When Moses came down from the mountain, his face began to shine. Everyone noticed this visible sign that he had been with God. But what began to happen is that the shine began to wear off, and so Moses wore a veil. Paul says that he put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away.
He didn’t want people to notice that he wasn’t experiencing the same thing he once was, and so he essentially wore a mask.
When you think everything has to look right and has to be all together, you distance people from experiencing your reality. You keep people away from really knowing you. And really, you set yourself up to not be able to encounter God.
We encounter and experience God best in the midst of transparency and honesty. And so it’s ok to realize that someones you’re doing a great job as a parent and other days you’d rather keep them locked up than to release them in public. It’s ok to admit that there are moments when your faith is incredibly strong, and moments when you just need other people to come alongside you and believe for you. Maybe you need to be honest that you’re not living as consistently as you wish you were, or that your marriage is in a rough place, or that your finances are a mess.
If you keep putting up the veil, you’re probably not going to encounter the mountain again. You’ll just keep creating a pseudo spirituality that’s based on having the right appearances and knowing the right things to say, instead of developing an authentic relationship with Jesus.
To continue in a mountain experience is to be keenly aware of your need for God, which can only happen in the midst of honesty and transparency.
I'm not sure I'm totally on board with your assessment that Moses was hiding his face out of a sense of vanity or pride that he didn't want the Israelites seeing him unless he was in super-spiritual mode. The 2 Corinthians verse goes on to create a symbolism between Moses' veil and the veil on the heart of the Israelites that separated them from God. Isn't that the point of the veil? That without Jesus we can't see God clearly?
It's a fair point, regardless, that we sometimes have the desire for people to perceive us as more spiritual than we are. Although it's my experience that this is a disease that plagues people more and more as they mature. I don't often see new Christians acting this way.
Thanks Paul. i expected some push back on that. i do think the greater point of the 2cor passage is what you point out, but i think it's a very logical inference to go where i do with it…and it's not a new idea with me either, i've read similar points made in several commentaries, etc
Oh! You didn't tell me a commentary said it…must be true then.
There is a certain reasoning to the inference, but there's also a problem. It doesn't seem like God would let Moses get away with that kind of attitude for long. That's not a fool-proof argument obviously, since none of us understand why God does what he does or does do, but it does seem a bit unusual given the God-Moses relationship.
I'll give you half a point for doing your homework anyway.
What? Commentaries aren't inspired?
Mike
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yes it's short & it may be misspelled because it was \”Sent from my iPhone\”
It's Fri. evening & I just finished your message. You explained how life is with it's ups & downs, using the account of Moses in Exodus for your illustration. Like you, I always wanted summer church camp to last forever while growing up. Camp was in the Bradshaw Mts. of AZ towards Prescott out of the town of Mayer. Jean Prey, Lakewood campus
thanks Jean