Normally for my birthday, we have dinner as a family and I receive flowers and cards from my husband and the kids. This year, in addition to the sweet time with my family, my husband surprised me with an unusual gift: a deep cleansing facial.
He heard my complaints about the bags under my eyes and the blackheads that invaded my cheeks and nose and responded by booking an appointment for me.
I was first happy, then nervous. The thought of a specialist looking so closely at my clogged pores was intimidating. I cringed at what she would find once she looked closely. I laid on the table and she began with a lighthearted conversation about kids and chores that caused me to forget the dread of the moment.
She cleansed my face, then wiped it gently. I felt another layer of product applied, then another. She massaged in between and then turned on a warm steamer. Just as I was thinking how great everything was, I felt a sharp pinch and jolted. The process to extract the stubborn blackheads out of my pores was anything but pleasant. I flinched a few times, but before long it was over.
She rinsed my face and covered it with a cool mask. When she peeled it off, I felt refreshed. I could not see my face just yet, but I could tell that dead weight had come off my previously tired face. She applied moisturizer and I was on my way.
I walked in the house and my husband commented on the glow that I was wearing. He said I beamed of radiance.
I was pleased with the smoothness of my skin and the compliments from my husband. I knew just how much work went into my face and the high price we paid for the luxurious glow.
As I sat for my quiet time the same evening, I came across the verses in Exodus 34 recounting the radiant face of Moses after his time on Mount Sinai in the presence of the Lord. Moses returned to the people unaware that his face was radiant because he had spoken to the Lord. But to everyone who saw him, it was obvious that he was transformed. He wore a glow that was unlike anything they had ever seen.
I read the text and thought, “How timely Lord!” I could envision Moses’s fresh facial. Moses radiated with the splendor of the Lord.
Unlike my temporary glow which will eventually fade, Moses experienced a profound change.
And we can too.
Christ, the Light of the World, came to cleanse us, remove our impurities and give us the light of life.
When we spend time in the presence of the Lord, His radiance permeates our lives.
It did not suffice that I was in the presence of an esthetician for me to leave with a glowing face. She had to work intentionally and I had to agree to a process. I could not get up and leave when the extraction became painful.
The process to grow in the Lord is quite similar. We must enter the presence of the Lord in the splendor of His holiness in order to be transformed.
We must willingly submit ourselves to His teaching, guidance, and molding. We must undergo the process of growing in the faith. At times it will be difficult. The Lord will sometimes use sharp tools to shape us. As He extracts the sin we previously loved, it will often feel like a jolting pain.
And while it may be painful for the moment, in the end the result will be beautiful and His light will shine through us.
We will radiate with the glow of His holiness.
Our light will shine ever so bright before everyone that there will be no question that we are set apart and that we are children of Light.
The presence of the Lord is far better than any facial you and I can experience and the light of His glory will cause us to shine with an everlasting radiance.
Have you allowed the light of the Word to transform you from the inside out?