Liz Schauer

I had the incredible blessing or not rushing this morning. I didn’t set an alarm, I made a good cup of coffee (not a K-cup of coffee), I went out to my deck, stared at the lake, soaked in the sun, and opened my Bible. I cannot tell you the last time I was able to do this, it brought peace to my soul.

This past week, I have been journeying through the book of 2 Corinthians. All too often I find myself wandering down deep theological rabbit trails, and so each morning, I try to find one basic truth in the Scriptures that I can reflect on throughout the day. The Lord is reminding me of the foundations of our faith, and once again, I am humbled and in awe of how great our God is.

This morning I read 2 Corinthians 3. If you haven’t read it in a while, you should…and the rest of this post will make more sense!

Like each morning this past week, I was hoping to find one basic truth I could cling to for the day. I read through the chapter once, and then twice, and then I wrote down all the parts that stood out to me (which was nearly the entire chapter), and then I read it a third time, and a fourth, and then I began to journal. My journaling has been about as rare as my relaxing mornings on the deck, but there was something different about this morning. I tried to think about a way to best convey what I was learning, a summary perhaps, but decided it was best to share what I wrote. This is unedited, straight from my knock-off Moleskine journal, be gracious:

This chapter is remarkable to me on so many different levels. It starts with exactly what I need to hear – Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? I feel as if I should ask myself that question each day! I commend myself and take credit for what is ultimately the Lord’s work. It continues on to say that we aren’t sufficient in ourselves to claim that anything is from us. Again, I need that to break down my pride and bring me back to resurrection Sunday, where all my power and sufficiency comes from. We are not to preach the otter, but the Spirit which gives life. I preach the letter more often than not because it is black and white; however, there is freedom in the Spirit! Moses’ ministry was filled with miraculous glory – seas parted, clouds of fire, manna from heaven, radiant faces – and yet, that came to pass for something permanent and exponentially more glorious. Why do we hid our faces, and in essence, our power behind a veil of timidity? We can have boldness in the Spirit – the veil has been removed in Christ. There is absolutely nothing to fear if, indeed, the glory of the Spirit of Christ is surpassingly greater than that of the letter. With an unveiled, unashamed, unhindered face, we can behold the glory of the Lord. This glory that Moses begged to see is available for us to behold in the radiant Christ. Just like Moses, whose face shone after seeing the Lord, we will be transformed. Oh how deeply I want to see the glory of Jesus and allow it to transform every part of my life! He will transform us from one degree of glory to another. He has already made us glorious by nature of being His, and he will continue to complete the good work he has started. This can only come from the Spirit. I don’t want to commend myself, I don’t want to believe that I have arrived or that I am good enough. I want to enter in daily to behold a man whose glory will last forever, whose love caused him to suffer to the uttermost, whole humility led him into the lives of the least of the least, whose power conquered the grave, whose Spirit transforms the farthest gone, whole brilliance illuminates the darkest of nights, and whose kingdom will reign forever. Today, Lord, I want to behold you and be changed by all that you are.