Turning to the Lord Lifts the Veil
Why is it that so many people do not see Jesus the way Christians see Him? Christ is clear to Christians, but fuzzy to unbelievers. They simply do not see Him as their Savior. But why?
We could list at least several reasons, but I will address just one. The main reason unbelievers don't see Jesus is because a veil is covering their hearts and their "spiritual eyes." They cannot see Jesus through the veil. Their hearts are covered and their minds are blinded.
Says who? Says God. He tells us in His Word, "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." (2 Cor. 4:4) So there you have it. Blind minds. Covered eyes. And an inability to see what Christians see regarding Jesus.
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By seeing Jesus and trusting in Him, Christians have confidence and even boldness before God. "Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away." (2 Cor. 3:12-16)
There it is! The key to having the veil removed. "Whenever anyone turns to the Lord," it happens! To turn to the Lord is to humble yourself before Him as a sinner. To turn to the Lord is to believe that Jesus is the promised Messiah. To turn to the Lord is to believe that Christ died on the cross for your sins. To turn to the Lord is to repent and turn away from sin as you turn to the Light of the world.
Turning involves planning to go in a new direction. It means a change of mind. That is actually what the word "repent" means. The change of actions do not come first. Those follow the change of mind which occurs through spiritual conversion. The change of behavior is "the fruit of repentance," (Matthew 3:8) whereas repentance itself involves turning to the Lord plain and simple.
So is there a veil covering your heart today? If so, you don't see Jesus. You don't trust Him as your Savior. You don't follow Him as your Lord. In fact, you may even be totally convinced that He is not God in the flesh. The veil does that to a person. It keeps people from seeing the true nature of Christ, and the true nature of His mission. The veil is a harsh spiritual reality.
A big reason so many people do not turn to Christ is human pride. Man resists having Jesus as his Lord and Savior. Man, by nature, is pretty self-reliant. Jesus comes along and informs us that we are sinners in need of His grace. Only the humble will accept such a message. Only the open-minded will turn to Christ. Many have gone from having a closed mind to having an open mind as their hearts have been softened toward the Lord. They come to see that Jesus is the One they needed all along.
Where are you at today in your faith? You are certainly trusting in someone, but who? Are you trusting yourself to know what is best for your life and your soul, or are you trusting Jesus? You cannot have both as your Savior. There is only room on the throne of your heart for one king. Who will it be? Jesus, or me? If I have a veil over my heart, then I am my own king and redeemer. "I don't need Jesus," or so I think. But "whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away." (2 Cor. 3:16)
People all over the world today are turning to the Lord. Will you be one of them? As Nik Wallenda crossed the Grand Canyon recently on a tightrope, he spoke to Jesus along the way. He relied upon Christ for help and assurance. That is a picture of what it means to be a disciple of the Lord. You turn to Him in any and every situation. You rely on Him. You trust in Him. You pray to Him. You know Him as the Redeemer of our soul.
Perhaps you are walking a tightrope in your marriage or on your job right now. It might feel to you like you are going to fall. There is no better time than the present to turn to the Lord in faith and accept Him as your Savior. When you accept Christ as Savior, you also gain a wonderful friend at the same time. There are so many benefits to turning to the Lord. There are so many reasons to do it today. There is no good reason to delay.
What happens to those who turn away from the Lord? In the words of the prophet Jeremiah, "Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the Lord, the spring of living water." (Jeremiah 17:13) In the very next verse, Jeremiah gives us these beautiful words which you can pray to God today if you choose to do so: "Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise." (Jeremiah 17:14)
The veil over man's heart leaves him in a bad spot. Most of the people in this condition are not even aware of it. Spiritual blindness prevents man from even seeing his problem, let alone the only cure for it.
You have probably been asked at some point when making a reservation, "Smoking or non-smoking?" Well in spiritual matters the question is this: "Veil or no veil?" Which will it be for you going forward?
Jesus can cure your spiritual blindness in the blink of an eye if you will turn to Him in faith. Or would you rather remain in spiritual darkness behind the veil which prevents you from seeing Jesus the way Christians see Him? The choice is yours my friend. "Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart." (Hebrews 3:7) By the grace of God, you can stop hardening your heart as you turn to Christ in repentance and faith.
