glory and freedom and the IOG

"Now the LORD is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the LORD's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the LORD, who is the Spirit." (2 Cor 3:17-18) As I read Revelation 21 and DOTE ch 29, the above passage sat at the forefront of my mind. I'm going to try to articulate the gigantic and exciting cosmic circle that's in my head... I hope some part of it makes sense!

DJ talks about glory as "whatever it is that makes God be God." The Greek word is translated "the heaviness of God's self-manifestation" and the working translation I generally use is "the manifestation of the excellence of God's character, the display of his holiness and worth in beauty." God's glory is a pretty magnificent thing! Next, John discovers where the source of this glory, this heaviness of God's self-manifestation, comes from. Are we even surprised to learn that it comes from the Lamb who was slaughtered? No. TANATS.

But the discussion of glory came in the midst of the greater discussion about God making all things new, not making all new things. Big difference. Enter the IOG and the 2 Cor passage: You and I know we are made in the image of God. And those of you who have spent more than 10 minutes with me know how much God has rocked my worldview through the deepening of my understanding of the IOG. We are made in God's image, made to reflect who he is and what he is about. Made to reflect faithfulness, freedom, gentleness, grace, holiness, kindness, love, mercy, patience, righteousness, glory... the list goes on forever. Naturally, we display this image in extremely finite and broken ways, as compared to his infinite and perfect ways, and yet we display the image just the same. On good days and bad days, whether we want to or not.

And then here's the kicker. As you and I conform our lives to be more like Jesus, who is "the image of the invisible God," we live out 2 Cor 3:18! Our faces are unveiled and we are able to see what Moses could not. We see the face of God, we see his glory, and our unveiled faces are transformed into this same likeness with ever-increasing glory! It's just this gigantic explosion of God's glory as we experience him in his glory and reflect him in his glory and finally "get" more fully what it means to actually be made in his image. Some of this we experience now, yes, and some of it we will experience most fully when Revelation 21 becomes a reality. It's part of that "already but not yet" paradox.

And all this glory "comes from the LORD, who is the Spirit," who is also "the Lamb who was slain" (well hello Trinitarian language AGAIN). "And wherever this Spirit of the LORD is, there is freedom!"

Maybe this week I'll do a better job of living in the reality that the Spirit of the LORD is with me, that freedom is mine, that God's glory is to be experienced and increasingly reflected, and that in that process God is most fully glorified as I most fully live out who I was created to be: a beloved daughter created in the image of her Creator.