Devotion - Thursday, April 10

Moses and God were pretty close.  God spoke to Moses; Moses was able (Exodus 7) to speak and bring forth frogs and gnats to cover the whole earth.  Later in the story, Moses will receive the Torah.  But Moses and the people will spend years (decades) together.  And after a while, that which is exceptional becomes rather common.

After one encounter with God, Moses' face glows.  The people are frightened by this, so Moses puts a veil over his face.

When we get to the time of Paul's writings (2 Corinthians 3:10ff), the effect of this veil is looked upon from a different perspective.  Paul acknowledges that while the initial glow may have frightened the people, think of the effect of watching that "fading" of that splendor.  How would the people react when this mark of God's presence began to lose some of it luster?

Maintaining a spiritual "high" is impossible.  Mountain top experiences are followed by a return to the plain.  Does a more typical emotion or routine or pattern suggest that God is any less present?  Does it mean that the encounter was of no consequence or merit?  Let's hope not.

Those encounters we have with God do bring a glow to our faces.  They impress (us and those with whom we share the experience.)  But it is necessary for us to return to the places and to the routines which give life its meaning and purpose.

Many are saying that the Church is fading; that its splendor isn't what it once was.  We could hold up a veil to hide this; or we could realize that highs must be followed by lows;  we can remember that the fading of Moses' splendor did not mean that God was finished nor that God had departed.  And by setting aside any such veil, and allowing others to see, we may be offering our greatest service.  By such a path we may give assurance to those who in their personal life are experiencing a time of fading splendor or see themselves in a spiritual low.

In that same section of 2 Corinthians, Paul writes "we have such a hope."