4:6 For it is God
who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts
to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ.
Currently I'm doing a series on the book of Judges at our
midweek meetings at church. We are almost finished and the further we go the
darker it gets. I promised before we started that we would see Jesus in Judges
and we have. Much to my delight I found Him this time in more places than I
ever have before. In fact I just found Him again and can't wait to share that
this coming week.
So why am I telling you this? Because to find Jesus in Judges
you have to search. He doesn't jump off the page in very many places. Honestly
if it weren't for the New Testament we may not recognize Him at all.
Here in 2 Corinthians Paul is telling us that God shone the
light of His glory in our hearts in or through or by the face of Jesus Christ.
In simple terms, if you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. He may
be hard to see in the dark, idolatrous cultures of the Old Testament where He
gets blamed for a lot of things He didn't do and is described in ways that
reflect the thoughts of the people far more than the reality of who He is. One
thing that is consistent in the Old Testament is that the people who looked for
Him and searched after Him came to a brighter and better understanding the
further they went. Moses asked to see His glory and far from the angry God he
had thought He was, He found a God who is merciful and compassionate, slow to
anger and abounding in love.
However I am so thankful God did not leave us to Wade through
the murky fog and darkness of the Old Testament. Instead He sent His Son. In
Jesus is by far the best representation of what God is really like. The Man who
could walk on water and raise the dead yet found time for little children,
that's God. The Man who touched the unclean lepers and treated them with
dignity and compassion while they were still sick, that's God. The man who
protected a woman from being stoned to death in her naked shame and offered her
hope instead of condemnation, that was God. The man who stood up to the corrupt
religious leaders and with tears in His voice told them exactly what they were,
that was God. The man who turned the tables of those who were trying to exploit
the guilt, shame, and genuine pursuit of God for money upside down, that was
God too. The man who forgave so easily, and reached far beyond what we would
consider adequate caring, that was God.
God shone the light of Who He is into our hearts through, by,
in the face of Jesus. If you really want to know what God is like, step out of
the shadows and darkness of the past and into the life of the Man from
Galilee.
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