With unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord… being transformed from one degree of glory to another

After they had sinned Adam and Eve, and the rest of humankind with them, were kicked out of paradise. And like they did, we hide from ourselves and each other (Genesis 3:7,8). We hide because it’s not safe, others are not safe, you are not safe, I am not safe. It can look safe for a while, but for example in a moment of weakness after years of marriage one or the other commits adultery. Clearly some are safer than others, but the safest people I have found, are those who are in the process of being radically transformed into the glory that was lost at the fall. It is unfortunately rare even in Christian circles, where it is supposed to be the norm!

Scripture tells us, that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). It seems to me, that none of us realize just how very far short of His glory, that we fall. It’s all part of hiding from ourselves. Nobody likes to think of him or herself as a villain. It’s called rationalization and denial, and coming out of this denial, is the very first step of all twelve-step programs. It’s not just about sin, it’s about our wounds! And we have all been wounded! For many of us, many of our wounds are open and festering. Some of us are stuck in the past in victimhood, others will not go there, because to go there is to relive the trauma. But there is another way, a better way, the Lord’s way. And His way is to help us revisit the past, not to stay there, but to allow Him to redeem it. Indeed He came to heal the brokenhearted (Luke 4:18), but we have a part to play, we need to push through the pain to the other side where there is joy (Hebrews 12:2). But how to do this?

There is a reason, that twelve-step programs tend to be more successful than programs that do not acknowledge a higher power, a power greater than ourselves. For the Christian, that higher power is Jesus! When we have Jesus as our higher power, it opens up to us to the principles and promises of Scripture, and to the healing presence of the Lord in our lives. It is not well known, that twelve-step programs, are based on Scripture, but it’s how they got started. The steps are designed to help us to revisit the past in the healthy way described above. It is part of the unveiling referred to in this morning’s verse from 2 Corinthians 3:18. And the more we incorporate the biblical principles and promises in the twelve steps, and the more we embrace His presence, the more we are healed and transformed into the glory that was lost when we were kicked out of Paradise!

Father, it seems to me, that the church has radically misunderstood what sanctification is all about. And while it certainly includes getting rid of the sin in our lives, getting rid of the sin in our lives is not enough. In AA they talk about being a dry drunk, that is no longer drinking, but still having all the dysfunctional living patents that drove the alcoholic to drinking in the first place. And these things will not change, without an unveiling. In particular, the wounds that we have received from our own and others’ sin, need to be cauterized. In entering into one of the many Christ based recovery programs seems to me to be the most efficient way to do this. But it’s hard Lord, recovery is not for cowards. So I pray for courage for myself and for those reading these posts this morning, and I thank you in advance for the answer to this prayer in Jesus Name Amen