Seeing Clearly

Seeing Clearly
   

In Exodus 3 we find Moses face to face with God on a mountaintop. In fact, mountaintops would go on to become a significant place for Moses, a place where he experienced the Lord in intimate and unique ways. Later he would receive the law from God on the same mountaintop; then, he would get to look onto the Promised Land from a mountaintop; finally, he would make a posthumous appearance with Christ on a mountaintop! It was in these places that Moses found his most clear perspective, because it was here that he heard from the Lord.  

Possessing clarity about direction or decisions or current events often feels difficult. Day-to-day trudging through the trenches and valleys of life can rob us of being able to see and feel and think clearly. Fortunately the Lord has also provided ways for us to experience him and live with his perspective: namely, his word and his people. Without consistent cultivation of a lifestyle grounded in God’s word and God’s people, we risk taking a path that seems right but may not be (Proverbs 14:12). God’s word promises to be a light for our steps (Psalm 119:105) and to help us be aware of the thoughts and intentions of our hearts (Hebrews 4:12). Furthermore, living in community with others protects us against unhealthy isolation (Proverbs 18:1) and also cultivates an others-centered heart, rather than a self-centered heart (Galatians 6:2-3).

It is fitting that we see Moses with Christ in his final mountaintop experience, for, ultimately, our perspective is only clear as it is grounded in the person and work of Christ. It is in him that we find freedom from sin, joy in our sorrow, hope in our discouragement, endurance in our suffering, and forward-looking eternal perspective. Even when everything else around us feels murky and dim, we can rest in the reality that his finished work of death and resurrection on our behalf keeps us in clear and right standing before the Lord at all times.