"Please show me your glory!"

Every child knows the story from Sunday School. From the time we're little we picture it... Moses goes up the mountain to speak with God. God is there, in a cloud, fire, and lightning and the people are afraid. But God speaks with Moses. Amazing!

But then the unthinkable happens: Moses dares to ask for even more! Now he wants to see God!

We tremble to think of how daring this is--but what if...

So God causes his glory to pass by Moses. You can read about it here. But here's the thing that I wonder. I know the way I pictured this when I was little. I know how I think God must've looked to Moses as he passed by. And then I think, "If only I could see God like that, it would totally change the way I live! I would never struggle with sin again!"

But maybe I need to reevaluate the way I think about this.

How about this: Have I thought that I have beheld more of God than Moses? I'm sure Moses saw Jesus, but did he see calvary? Did he see God dwelling with man in the New Jerusalem? He did not see the fullness of the revelation that we have in the completed Old and New Testaments. (If you think this isn't a valid comparison, check this out.)

What have I seen of God? If I haven't seen him, it's probably because my eyes aren't open. What Moses saw part of, while hidden in a rock on a mountain, we leave on our bookshelf gathering dust.

And then we wonder why we struggle with indwelling sin...

If we want our faces to shine, we must behold more of God--we must find him in his Word.