Transformed

READ: EXODUS 34:29-35; 2 CORINTHIANS 3:7-18

When you know someone well, you generally know how they’ll act. Your dog will bark at anyone who walks by, your teacher will stand in front of the class to teach, etc. But what if your teacher started doing handstands in class, or your dog started meowing? That might be a little strange.

In Exodus 34, there was something strange about Moses. His face literally glowed! Verse 29 tells us this happened to Moses “because he had spoken with the LORD.” Speaking with God—having a real encounter with Him—made Moses seem weird to his friends and family.

When Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave, He changed everything. If we’ve put our trust in Jesus, we are now saved from the power of sin. This good news changes us! We might not have glowing faces like Moses did, but we will become more like Christ as we get to know our Savior. We will start loving others better, being kind to those who aren’t kind to us, speaking truth instead of lies, and glorifying God in all areas of our lives.

Moses had to cover his glowing face, but now that Jesus has come, 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “we all…with unveiled faces…are being transformed into his [Jesus’s] image with ever-increasing glory.” As we grow in our relationship with Jesus, we don’t want to hide the things God is doing in our lives because we want others to know what we have in Jesus and to perhaps draw near to Him too. We might still be afraid it will change our friendships, our family relationships, or our social status, but all of that is worth the love and peace we find in Jesus.

Being like Jesus will sometimes mean we seem as strange as a dog who meows. Yet, we can find comfort in verses like 1 Peter 3:14: “But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed.” Why are we blessed? Because we have a relationship with Jesus—He is our hope, and He is always with us. Let’s pray God will grant us courage to be more like Jesus, even if it means people will notice—and maybe even think we’re strange. • Kristi Dennis

• Have your friends ever told you that you’re weird or that what you were doing wasn’t normal? What made you seem so different to them?

• Why does following Jesus mean we will sometimes seem very different to people who don’t know Him? (If you want to dig deeper, read Acts 4:29-31; Romans 12:14-21; 1 Peter 2:12; 3:8-18)

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18 (NIV)