But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. 2 Corinthians 3:16-18

You know many times we walk with blinkers on.  Things happen and we say: how come we never saw that coming.  We sometimes have tunnel vision, focusing on a singular thing that clouds out the other things happening around us. Here The writer says to us When we remove our veils we will be not only be able to see the glory of God but we will reflect it too. 

This second letter to the Corinthians is really not the 2^nd time Paul is writing them.  He had written two other letters besides 1Corinthians as recorded in the bible. Paul in this letter was trying to convince the Corinthians that he Paul was the real deal.  There were others teaching them something different. Paul says if they truly pay attention to the lord the veil will be removed and if the veil is removed they will see what God is saying and doing.

 In the Old Testament the glory of God was too intense for the ordinary person to see.  Only Moses the anointed leader could see. The others hid their faces Paul says seeing everyone can see God.  God belongs to everyone.  Anyone and everyone can have intimate knowledge of God and so understand how best to act.  We can discern how God wants us to act, we do not need to take what others are saying as the only way to experience God.

Lifting the veil is living in the spirit.  Living in the Spirit, being guided by the Spirit frees us from spiritual blindness, and sin.  This allows one to be able to act freely without any doubts or second guess themselves that they are living the life as God wants. It brings freedom to live in a way that that truly reflects God’s glory. They no longer needed to keep the Jewish religious laws. They were released from them.  So too when you focus on God you too will see that the relationship you develop with God and the community of God is all you need to live a full life.

Transformation is then possible. You move from being anxious and unsure to being assertive confident and a bold Christian.  God’s glory is revealed. We are able to live in it and portray it so others can see it.  This means we bear God’s image and become more like him daily as we trust in what God reveals to us.  As we seek to remove the veil God undergirds us with God’s strength, power and wisdom. We know God’s promise of a hand to protect us as walk in The way God directs us We have the assurance that the shield of God will defend us and God’s host will guard us against the snares of evil and the temptations of the world. Where God is, all is well. All will be well, all manner of things will be well.  Amen.  .  

Part 1 of a 3 part series The other parts are

II Unveiling Yourself and

III Unveiling, Unmasking, Knowing yet not Knowing