Veiling Fog

“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”—2 Corinthians 4:3-4

Some good friends recently went on a vacation to the Grand Canyon. They were disappointed upon their arrival to see that it had just snowed and it was foggy. Their room had a balcony overlooking the Grand Canyon with no gate or rail to keep them safe. They sat on their balcony one morning, having coffee, only able to see the fog and not the immense and magnificent grandeur of the biggest canyon in the world. If they were to take two or three steps they would fall hundreds of feet to their death. To be able to be in the presence of such majesty and immensity and not be able to see it is like living every day without any consideration of God.

God is THE only God, besides Him there is no other—His greatness is seen in creation. As David declared, “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork”—Psalm 19:1. Most people live their lives with a veiling fog of unbelief, unable to see the immense beauty and power of Christ.

Satan has successfully blinded the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing who Christ is. When we share Christ, we receive one of two responses that are polar opposites—they will either accept Him or they will reject Him, although many types of responses may appear to fall in between. They do not necessarily reject Christ because of who Christ is, but they reject Him, in part, because Satan has blinded them from seeing Him. It may present itself as a vague pride of their own self-righteousness or a desire to achieve some type of justification through a god of their own making.

The veiling fog of unbelief is lifted through a few different means: through the preaching of God’s Word (Romans 1:17), through believers’ love for the lost (Luke 19:10, John 3:16, Matthew 28:19-20) and for other believers in Christ (John 13:35), and through evidentiary display of God’s power shown through His people (1 Corinthians 14:24-25). In other words, the veil is removed when one is enabled to turn to Christ through God supernaturally making Christ known. Or as Paul wrote, Romans 1:17, “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.” Faith is a gift, then, that comes through the proclamation of God’s Word, and while God is the initiator in this divine act, we still must respond to it. So, God causing us to believe and our act of believing remove the veil. Paul writes that the veil is removed when one turns to Christ, “But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed”—2 Corinthians 3:16. And when that happens, God making Christ known to man and man believing in Christ, there is a transformation and Christ can be seen for who He is, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit”—2 Corinthians 3:18. The veiling fog is taken away and we are allowed to see Him who is our hearts’ desire, our hope, our greatest delight, and truest joy. May God use us to help clear away the veiling fog of unbelief that keeps our friends and family from seeing the God of glory—the risen and living Christ! Amen.