Many of us have heroes who seem to be so close to the Lord they are almost radiant. The Bible recounts the way Moses glowed after his encounter with God (Exodus 34) and the people of Israel were afraid. He wore a veil so the people were not afraid. A benefit of the veil is they did not see as that radiance faded. Moses was not radiant because of his own glory but because he reflected the glory of the Lord.
Like Moses, our righteousness is not result of our own righteous living but it is a gift from God. In Ephesians, Paul writes:
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9, KJV
Left to ourselves we have no righteousness. Like Moses, many people who call themselves Christians wear a veil to disguise their true heart. But nobody can hide from God. Jesus admonished the Pharisees:
And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.
Luke 16:15, KJV
Jesus did not excuse his disciples’ sin. While he admonished the Pharisees for their self-righteous behavior, he also held his followers to a higher standard than the Pharisees:
For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 5:20, KJV
We are not saved by righteous living; we are made righteous when we trust in the work of Jesus and we live in righteousness as we remain in his presence. The glory the people in the camp saw beaming off Moses was the reflection of the glory of God because he had been on the mountain with God. People we know and admire who beam with the glory of God live in submission to and fellowship with the Lord.
A popular hymn puts it this way:
When we walk with the Lord
“Trust and Obey”, John Henry Sammis
in the light of his word,
what a glory he sheds on our way!
While we do his good will,
he abides with us still,
and with all who will trust and obey.
We are not saved by living a righteous life. This is what Jesus condemned the Pharisees for. We are made righteous through Jesus. Neither are we to live for our own pleasure, but called to live righteously because we have been saved by the grace of God. It is drawing near to God every day and every step of the way that makes us radiant, reflecting his glory.
Note: This article is taken from Treasure Path to Soul Winning. Section 3. Assignment 8.