2 Corinthians 3:18
Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not...
2 Corinthians 4:1
Whether or not you think you have talent or a gift, if you are a Christian, you have a ministry. And... this ministry is your first calling, anything else that you do for the Lord, will emanate from it. So what is this ministry that all believers have??
It is the ministry of "beholding the face of God!" Yes, Paul tells us very plainly in
2 Corinthians 3:18 We can never please God in anything we do, if we are not beholding our Lord's glory. Paul talks about a constant, committed and faithful worship of our Lord. It is the time that we give to God... simply to gaze upon Him.
The apostle immediately adds in 2 Corinthians 4:1, "Therefore seeing we have this ministry"... the clear reasoning, that beholding the face of Jesus is a ministry we all must commit and entrust ourselves to.
The Greek word for "beholding" in this verse is a very strong expression. It signifies "fixing our gaze" upon God, not just taking a glimpse of Him. We are to decide we will not be moved from this position until we have been saturated with His presence!
Before we do anything else for God, we must be in His company if we are to accomplish a single thing for Him.
Paul is speaking of a strong and intense focus, as if we were peering at something solemnly and fervently through a glass... trying to see it more clearly. We are to "fix our eyes" this way, determined to see and know God's glory in the face of Christ. We are to be shut in with the "holy of holies", to gaze so intently... to commune with such devotion... that it changes us!
The apostle tells us that the person who is "shut in with Christ Jesus" is being changed, converted and transfigured. We are being changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 3:18
With this kind of hope and vision in our Lord, nothing can hold us back from doing the Lord's work. God will remove the veil and we will find ourselves face-to-face with Him. We will see a living and personal God... not a chiseled piece of stone. There will be nothing between us and God and our faces will shine and reflect the brilliance of all that He is!
My friend, fix your eyes upon the Lord today... soak up His glory... it will carry you through and transform your life... no matter your circumstances!