Unveiled For Eternity

The more you behold and understand that you belong to Jesus, the more you will become like Him.

"I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask him for a safe journey for us and our children, with all our possessions. So we fasted and petitioned our God about this, and he answered our prayer. I weighed out to them the offering of silver and gold and the articles that the king...had donated for the house of our God. I said to them, “You as well as these articles are consecrated to the LORD. The silver and gold are a freewill offering to the LORD, the God of your ancestors. Guard them carefully...On the twelfth day of the first month we set out from the Ahava Canal to go to Jerusalem. The hand of our God was on us, and he protected us from enemies and bandits along the way. Everything was accounted for by number and weight...the exiles who had returned from captivity saccrificed burnt offerings” ‭‭Ezra‬ ‭8‬:‭21‬-36

Ezra and an array of leaders prepared for the journey to Jerusalem. They had been given gold and silver to build God's temple when they got there. The challenge for them, and the same challenge for us, is all that is between us and where we are going. Before they ever took a step toward their heavenly destination, the people humbled themselves before God. We would be wise to practice this same approach each day. Before we can be filled, we need to empty.

After humbling themselves, the people stewarded the talents of precious metals by each carrying a portion to the holy place. This is how God works. He entrusts each of us with gifts from the King that are meant for His kingdom. The events in Ezra are a perfect preview of what our new life in Christ is meant to be as we steward our strengths, gifts, and resources for righteous purposes. Ezra told them to guard them carefully and walk as ones consecrated to God. The invitation is to begin by humbling ourselves and understanding that we have holy gifts meant for heavenly purposes.

What has God given you to steward? Ask the Holy Spirit to help you see with holy eyes how best to carefully carry the King's gifts. There is a progression in this passage where the people move from consecration to kingdom stewardship to covenant worship. We are meant to move in the same direction, from humbling ourselves to carefully holding the holy gifts we are given to lifting our hands high.

“Praise the LORD. I will extol the LORD with all my heart...Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them. Glorious and majestic are his deeds...the LORD is gracious and compassionate. He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever...all his precepts are trustworthy. He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever— holy and awesome is his name. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow his precepts have good understanding. To him belongs eternal praise.” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭111‬:‭1‬-‭10‬

Something powerful happens when we lift our eyes to see the glory and goodness of God. As we lift up the Lord, we are lifted up. As we see clearly how amazing God is, songs of praise are the natural outflow of our understanding of His goodness. All who ponder and experience God's perfect love will praise His holy and awesome name.

How you see God will impact every area of your life. If you see God as an angry judge or a distant deity, it will result in a distorted view of yourself. You were made in the image of God and meant to reflect Him. If you see God as gracious and compassionate, you too will become gracious and compassionate. The truth is that what we behold is what we become. If we fix our gaze on Jesus and focus on being with Him face to face, we will naturally reflect Him to others. The psalmist invites us to lift our eyes and see clearly how amazing God is. Will you? Will you take your eyes off your phone so you can focus on the faithful God who is forever worthy of our full devotion?

“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine. My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline, and do not resent his rebuke, because the LORD disciplines those he loves, as a father the son he delights in. My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight, preserve sound judgment and discretion; Have no fear of sudden disaster...Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3‬:‭3‬-27

Many people get caught up in the rules of religion and fail to see that everything God gives us is to enhance our relationship with Him. The purpose of this passage is written out of the love of a parent who wants to guide his precious child to a life of peace and prosperity. God is not looking to turn you into a robot who strictly follows rigid rules because He is some cosmic taskmaster. Rather, we are meant to see that the God who is always loving, faithful, peaceful, just, righteous, wise, compassionate, generous, and gracious is inviting us to allow Him to transform us into His likeness.

The wisdom of Solomon reflects what we see later in Jesus. Jesus is always loving and faithful. His life reflected trust in the Lord to the point of death on the cross, surrendering His very life to make the path of peace straight for all people. He described Himself as humble and gentle. He did not hold anything back. He gave His firstfruits and poured out His blood as the new wine of the new covenant. He lived a disciplined life as one who understood the delight the Father has in Him. He did the good He could, and His command was that we would become His hands and feet to the world after He left.

What would happen if we began every day by humbling ourselves and storing up the words of Proverbs 3 in our hearts? What would happen if we committed to letting love and faithfulness never leave us? In our own strength, this is impossible, but by the power of the Holy Spirit, we are free to love extravagantly as Jesus did and does. These words of wisdom are not something God wants from us. They unlock blessings that lead to the inheritance that God wants to give to us because He loves us. What verse from this beautiful text stands out to you? Why? How could it better help you grow in how your life reflects a heart devoted to Jesus?

“The hand of the LORD was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the LORD and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign LORD, you alone know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the LORD! I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them...breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army...I will put my Spirit in you and you will live...I will make them one nation...I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them...they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees. I will make a covenant of peace with them”‭‭Ezekiel‬ ‭37‬:‭1‬-‭28

Imagine God taking you out to a cemetery full of long-dead bodies. Nothing but dry bones. What would you think when you looked at them? God asked Ezekiel if they could come alive. Consider for a moment any area of your life where you see dry bones. Maybe a dream that has died. A person stuck in addiction. A failed relationship or endless frustration. Maybe a broken body or brokenness in culture or the community. Where do you see death?

Do you believe Jesus can bring life? Do you believe in the power of the resurrected King? God tells Ezekiel to speak life and see how the Spirit of God can bring life and build armies out of dead, dry bones. God tells Ezekiel that He will put His Spirit in His people, and they will all come together under one Shepherd. We know that Shepherd. We know His name. It is Jesus. He is the Prince of Peace and King of Kings. We are not the ones who do the heavy lifting. We simply carry the Holy Spirit and let the God who gives life give life. We let the One who cleanses cleanse. When we consider that we are consecrated and carry the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead, we should gain confidence that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.

“You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit...We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face...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.” ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭3‬:‭2‬-‭18

Have you ever been to a wedding banquet where the veil was removed? The face of the bride shines with the purity and light of perfect love being sealed with an eternal covenant. This is the image of the unveiling that we are to grab hold of today. Bride and bridegroom. Face to face in faithful covenant love that leads to freedom and finding delight in one another.

God wants you to be free, for you are His beloved. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Think about what that means for your life. Ezra and the people humbled themselves before God, and He watched over them as they stewarded the gifts they were given until they were all brought together in a place of worship. David lifted his eyes and, in doing so, was lifted by the loving faithfulness of God. Solomon gave us secrets to a life of peace and prosperity found in a relationship with the God of love. Ezekiel saw death, but God spoke new life. Each passage reminds us of our relationship with Him. We belong to Jesus, and the more we behold Him, the more we become like Him.

You are being transformed into the image of Christ with ever-increasing glory. He is changing you from the inside out. The Holy Spirit is at work within you today. Jesus sets you free from sin, shame, and fear of sudden disaster so you can walk in the fullness of His love. Dry bones become beaming, life-giving beauty as we live by the Holy Spirit. Jesus completely flips the script of our lives so we can see that we are not striving to earn His affection or gain what the world offers, but are free to be faithful stewards of all He has given us. We are free to become who He made us to be and live with unveiled faces, daily delighting in our Holy God.

What would happen if you began each day by humbling yourself and asking God how you could most faithfully steward your strengths? What if you leaned not on your own understanding or perspective and committed each day to honoring God with your best, first? What would happen? What if you approached every encounter with others believing that you had the ability to give them life?

God is not asking you to manufacture anything. He is inviting you to walk with Him, trust Him, and allow the Holy Spirit to flow through you. Both the psalmist and Paul said the more you see His goodness, the more you will reflect His glory. The more you understand how fully you are loved, the more freely you will love others. Lift the veil, lift your eyes, and lift up the name above all names so that love and faithfulness would lead you to the new life of the Spirit that He has for you. Today is a day to rattle bones and live the resurrected life in Christ as you reflect Him.