veiled hearts

The Jews of Paul’s day had a problem. They were so focused on following rules, they couldn’t see Jesus.

Paul wrote about it to the church in Corinth, 2 Corinthians 3:15-18: “Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And 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.”

I think Paul is writing about what Jesus did in destroying the veil to the Holy of Holies. Prior to that, our relationship with God was defined by our failures. The laws described what men should do, but the sacrifices acknowledged that men couldn’t. In order to even worship God, blood had to be shed to atone for sin. And the Holy of Holies, that place where once a year God met man, only one man could enter, and it was possible that he might be struck dead. 

Jesus took care of all that. Jesus lived perfectly, obeying every law of God. Jesus died, paying the ultimate blood price for all sin, for all of time. Jesus tore down the curtain that kept men from God’s presence.

People who try in any small way to earn their salvation are still the law-followers; their veiled hearts keep them from seeing what Jesus did. People who put their hope in Jesus have unveiled faces, and are transformed. The image of Moses, whose face was transformed by God’s glory, made to glow so that he had to wear a veil, is such a rich one in this context.

So which kind of Christian am I? Do I every veil my heart? Do I look to the things I do as important to save me? Do I consider following rules a part of salvation? Do I ever feel secure because I’ve lived a good life, or done good things?

Or do I see myself clearly, as a sinner-made-saint by the grace of God alone, a man who becomes more saintly every day that I remember my debt to the God of grace? 

I think mostly I’m the second kind, but I can remember times, recent times, when I was lured back to that old way of thinking. It’s easy to look at the doing side of faith rather than the believing.