Nougat 14

Hello siblings

Asenath offered a perspective on the unveiling yesterday that had not yet germinated in my mind. Thanks, for the perspective you offer, that brides are veiled before kissing the groom. In accepting Y’shua as our groom, our spirits are unveiled, so He can see us and we also see Him fully. A blessed hope for us all to consider.

The bride and groom analogy is even more apt in light of the second movement in the verse. It speaks to contemplating the Lord’s glory. This and more to be unveiled as we consider Today’s Holy Nougat.

2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV

[18] 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.

Unveiled to Behold the Glory

Whereas in the past, worshippers of YHWH tended to obey without a personal relationship with God, we are called to individual intimacy. We still maintain communal worship rituals (as we’re doing through this reflection now), but each of us gets the opportunity to fully experience Y’shua as Lord in our lives.

Self-Check

How intimate is our relationship with Christ? Is our spirit unveiled, and do we truly share everything about ourselves with Him?

Deeper Dive

Following on Asenath’s wedding analogy, ‘contemplation’ suggests that we are in between the pastor’s instruction to kiss, and the actual consummation of the kiss. A true romantic, I’m imagining our groom Y’shua slowly unveiling our faces, while looking in our eyes anticipating that special moment. Believe me when I say, I’m hearing Y’shua dedicating a love song to us, or singing it Himself. It’s the one that’s entitled ‘You are so beautiful to Me!’

If possible, imagine with me, Y’shua’s loving touch, as He assures us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139:14), reminding us that for the love of us, He was willing to lay down His life. Yes, Christ’s death and resurrection says the You and I are literally ‘to die for’ (we are worth dying for; see John 15:13). Let no one tell us otherwise. We bask in the love, and find ourselves wanting to become more and more fully what He sees in us.

It is no wonder then, that I see us as Christ’s bride, looking up at Christ, committing His features to memory. You might say I’ve gotten caught up in the bridal imagery, but the Greek doesn’t actually use the English transliteration ‘contemplate’. Rather, it speaks about ‘beholding, as if [one is studying an image] in a mirror’. The Topical Lexicon offers a beautiful explanation:

‘The verb denotes the action of looking into, and thereby reflecting, a mirror. The idea combines receptive contemplation and responsive radiation.’

What bliss! Even before that faithful, fateful day when we met Christ to live ‘happily ever after’, we can behold Christ. We can contemplate what He’s like through our prayers, reading, and reflection of Scripture. We bask in the glory of His love, and in response, we not only behold His glory, but we begin to radiate His glory. (More on that tomorrow.)

Point to Ponder

How are we radiating Christ’s glory?

Praise Break

Despite our flaws and failures, let’s hear Christ singing to us:

and perhaps sing back to Him.

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May all we seek be found in Christ