The Glory

Sunday night, I had the opportunity to attend the kick-off of our high school youth group, Refuge.  Reign performed a twelve-song set (concert?), and I got to stick around to run the sound board.  One of the volunteers, Chris, gave a short devotional discussing the Transfiguration.  Here are my thoughts from that night, as they came to me at 10:30 pm.
Tonight, Chris taught out of Mark 9:2-8--the transfiguration of Christ.  A couple of things stand out to me.  One:  Peter, James, and John went to the mountain alone with Jesus.  They saw the view of the surrounding area; they relished their time alone with the Savior.  All of a sudden, He turns brilliant white, revealing the fullness of His glory to them.  What an experience--this man they called friend, teacher, and Messiah, has just shown them a glimpse of Who He really is...and Peter (gotta love Peter) gets caught up in seeing Moses and Elijah with Him.  Peter wants to pitch a tent and roast s'mores.  It's interesting, as well, that when the Father on the scene, that the cloud comes with Him.  How magnificient the Father's glory must be--the men had just seen Christ's glory revealed, but could not gaze on the Father.
Two:  This led me to think about Moses.  When he ascended Mt. Sinai to receive the commandments (the second time), he met with God.  He saw the Father's glory (Exodus 23:17-23).  The Word tells us that Moses asked to see God's glory and it was revealed to him while he hid in the cleft of the rock.  After receiving the commandments, Moses was forced to cover his face with a veil when speaking to the people.  Evidently, Moses' reflection of God's glory was too much for them to handle!  2 Corinthians 3:12-18 tells us that Moses veiled his face so the people would not see what was "coming to an end," that the glory was fading.  Paul goes on to say that we, when we turn to the Lord, have the veil removed, which brings freedom.  We are transformed "from one degree of glory to another."  The Holy Spirit brings us freedom to enjoy the glory of the Lord and to show His glory to those around us.
Wow!  What an awesome thought, that God's glory is so dense, so bright, so powerful that we cannot gaze upon it while we are here on earth.  That He would choose to shine through us, broken, soiled by sin, to reveal His glory to those around us. 
Father, I cannot fathom why You would choose to work in and through me, let alone to shine Your glory through me, so that others would see You.  Help me, each day, to become a better reflection of Who You are.  I fail so many times, I feel inadequate to be Your vessel.  Continue, Lord, to reveal Yourself to me, so that I may reflect You to the world.