What is it? - Day 240 Month 8-27 Week 35-2
Today's Reading (Bible in 1 year)
1 Kings 14, Proverbs 24:13-22, Ezekiel 36:1-21, 2 Corinthians 3
What is it?
I write my blog 3 days ahead in case for some reason I’m unable to write for a couple of days. I am writing this post on August 25th, Sylvia’s and my anniversary. This blog post is being posted on August 28, which will be my son’s wedding day, one year from today. We are camping at Kejimikujik, a Parks Canada park, an hour drive from our home. We really enjoy it here and today’s weather is beautiful. We try to be somewhere special every year on our anniversary.
The view from our campsite
Our marriage, like all marriages, has ups and downs. Sylvia often reminds me that we don’t have a lot in common. The things we do have in common we try to spend a lot of time on. One of those things is design and renos, another is travelling, and another is showing hospitality. There are others but the most important is our common faith and we have common goals within that faith.
We renovated an old farmhouse into a bed and breakfast that we ran from 2006 - 2011 because we wanted to be able to serve others and present who Jesus is through our hospitality. We very seldom had a chance to share our faith to others but a person could not be in our home without realizing there is something different and that we were Jesus followers. Whether it was the wall hangings that were prayers or blessings or the fact that Sylvia would have to explain on Sundays that “Steve works at a church in Toronto and that’s why he isn’t here to help with breakfast.” We didn’t push our faith on others but in that community, we were known as Jesus followers and were given opportunities to serve God in ways we never expected.
By now, you’re probably saying, “Ya, ya, but what does this have to do with today’s reading?”
I think it has to do with what people see when we live out our faith. Sylvia and I don't agree on everything, and we certainly don't have everything figured out, but our shared faith is something that shapes how we live. We don't need to announce it every time we walk into a room. We simply try to live in a way that makes it visible.
Paul says when talking about the people of Israel, “Their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted (it’s like a veil is over their eyes and the old covenant is not taken to heart) because it is removed in Christ. But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away” (2 Corinthians 3:14-16).
I think this is part of what Paul is getting at when he talks about the veil. He describes people who hear the words of Scripture but don't yet understand what they mean. Then he says that when a person turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
We live our lives, daily praying for those who we know and living our lives in a way that if one person turns to Jesus the veil is lifted and they will “Get it.”
As the Holy Spirit dwells within us and within all Jesus followers, a person we come across may recognize something but not realize exactly what it is. It’s the Holy Spirit. Paul says “Now the Lord is The Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:17,18)
Sylvia and I don't know whether anyone has ever looked at our lives and thought, “There is something different here.” Maybe someone has, and we simply don't know about it. That's okay. We don't need to know. We just want our marriage, our home and our lives to reflect the faith we share. We want people to see something different without feeling like we're forcing anything on them. If God uses that difference to draw someone toward Jesus and lift the veil, then that's pretty amazing.
Have a great day!
Steve
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