Advantage

Life can be different for us.

Now if the ministry of death, chiseled in letters on stone tablets, came in glory so that the people of Israel could not gaze at Moses’ face because of the glory of his face, a glory now set aside, how much more will the ministry of the Spirit come in glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, much more does the ministry of justification abound in glory! Indeed, what once had glory has lost its glory because of the greater glory; for if what was set aside came through glory, much more has the permanent come in glory! Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness, not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was being set aside. But their minds were hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when they hear the reading of the old covenant, that same veil is still there, since only in Christ is it set aside. Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit. - 2 Corinthians 3:7-18

Imagine for a moment that you have been given an advantage, a special gift, an aid that can help you understand God in a way you had not expected.

Would you use that advantage for your own purposes, or would you seek to share it with others?

When it comes to evangelizing, we tend to shy away.  We believe our faith is like all others.  We respect what others believe and choose to let them live as they wish.  

But when we come to know the Spirit of the Lord, the Holy Spirit of God, who comes to us in Baptism and dwells within us throughout our lives, we discover there is something different, something unique about our lives, something we would want to share.

Now I believe it is possible to have received the Spirit in Baptism and still hold it at bay, keep it from guiding our lives, and so we fail to know God fully.  

So, there is something we need to do to experience God in our lives, and that something is to let go.

When obstacles slow us down, or divert our pathways, those are the times when we need to trust in God.  If we are doing His work, He will help us find a way around the obstacles.

God will reveal Himself in the ways the world opens up to us, in the help He sends.

Living with a veil means we rely on others to tell us what God is like and how God is there for us, but without the veil, we can see for ourselves.

The Holy Spirit is there for us always, and all we need to do is ask for help.

Then we need to trust God and go where He leads us.

Sounds simple.  But until you experience the advantage, you will never seek to share it.

More to come...