Veiled Color
Isaiah 25:7-8 KJV
(7) And he will destroy in this mountain the face of the covering cast over all people, and the vail that is spread over all nations.
(8) He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.
Though I grew up in Burlington, there is a town just south of Denver called Castle Rock where I was born and lived till 7 years old- when we moved to Burlington to start a church. The mountain range there is definitely close enough to see and experienced, but whenever we would go to Denver there was, more often than not, something that kept the mountains from being seen as they should be seen. As you approach the city you can see this brownish cloud of smog hovering and withholding clear view of the towering mountains. Once you get into the city the cloud is ever veiling the true beauty of the mountain and its majesty. It’s right there; you just can’t see it for the veiling smog. Every once in a while, though, after a windy or rainy night, the fog may recede, completely exposing the full and clear vision of the mountains, as if you could just reach over and touch them.
A long journey may have been made and there may be great anticipation for the promised beauty of a life in God. As approach is made, though, a brownish cloud of failure may hover above those that are living there in that ‘colorful’ place. Emissions of sin and defeat may have effectively concealed the image of God’s incredible beauty and splendor. Oppression, depression, addiction, weakness, etc. may cover and cause the famous ranges of God’s majesty to be misrepresented and kept from full vision.
God is right there, though, waiting to inspire, amaze and empower through the clear vision of Jesus. If the Spirit will just have freedom to blow across the city and if His rain can but fall down without restraint, the veil will be removed and the glory that will change and transform will be clearly seen. When the busy avenues and byways of earthly demands for living are given up for the tranquility of His restful places, the veil will lose its source and the air will gain purity.
‘Colorful’ may not fit the description of what has been seen thus far, but there is a promise of clear, purposeful, and victorious living for those who are in Christ. By the Spirit’s wind and rain, all those things that have clouded, skewed and veiled Jesus’ beauty will be removed to expose something which is so clear that you could just reach out and touch it. And then, you know, you can.
