Second Corinthians 3:12-18 is a wonderful portion of the New Testament. On the one hand, it says that the sons of Israel are veiled, and on the other hand, it says that whenever their heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. The removal of the veil does not depend on anything other than turning our heart to the Lord. When the veil is not taken away, there is no light, but once the heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. The veil refers to all the things that we pursue other than the Lord. Whenever our heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. All the veils are due to the fact that our heart is not focused on the Lord. Therefore, verse 16 says that whenever our heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Once our heart turns to the Lord and desires the Lord in a single and pure way, we become a person who is pure in heart. One who is pure in heart does not know anything; he just knows the Lord. He does not desire anything; he just desires the Lord. One who is pure in heart does not covet anything in the world; neither does he covet anything in the spiritual realm. He is able to say, “O Lord, whom do I have in heaven but You? And besides You there is nothing I desire on earth.” His heart is so pure and is not covered by any veil. Furthermore, once his veils are taken away, light comes, and immediately he sees. We all must realize what our problem is. Our problem is that our inner being is not pure and that we still have a great deal of mixture in us. Therefore, our heart needs to turn to the Lord.
Some people may ask, How do we know that we are focusing on something other than the Lord? How do we know what these things are? And how do we know if we are focusing on the Lord as well as on something else? Actually, everyone knows already. All the problems hinge on whether or not we are willing to be broken and to receive the dealing of the cross. In the example mentioned before, the brother argued with me and tried to justify himself. I do not believe that he did not have any negative feeling within him while he was arguing. Neither do I believe that a person who loves to boast does not have any similar feeling. They all have this kind of feeling, but the question is whether or not they are willing to receive it.
Second Corinthians 3:16 says, “Whenever their heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.” Verse 17 says, “And the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” When we put these two verses together, they say, “Whenever their heart turns to the Lord...and the Lord is the Spirit.” What does this mean? The apostle wrote these two verses so close together because he knew that people might ask him, “You want me to turn to the Lord, but where is the Lord?” The apostle answered this question indirectly by saying that the Lord is the Spirit. When people ask us how it can be possible to know if they have turned their heart to the Lord, we should turn the question back to them and ask them whether or not they have freedom within. Do you think that the arguing brother that I mentioned before has freedom? I believe that the more he argues with me, the less freedom he has within. The more he ignores his inner feeling and refutes my words, the more his spirit within him is bound. Eventually, he will not have any light. Once a person who loves to boast begins to do so, his inner being has no freedom because the Lord Spirit is bound within him. We must ask ourselves, do we prefer to turn to our boasting or to the Lord, who has no freedom within us?
Surely someone who loves money or children more than the Lord has some feeling within him. We all can testify that we do have a particular feeling inside of us when we love money; we feel bound and oppressed within. Then when we open our mouth to pray, others will know that there is something wrong with us—the Lord within us is not free; He is bound in us. If we still love money, or if we love our children more than the Lord, how can we not have an uneasy feeling? However, if we are willing to turn to the Lord, who has been bound within us, we will immediately receive freedom and be full of light. What are our hindrances, and what are the things that we are pursuing other than the Lord? No doubt they are the things that make us feel uneasy. When we feel uneasy or uncomfortable regarding a certain matter, that matter is a hindrance; this is something we are pursuing other than the Lord. We should unreservedly allow the Lord to break it.
When we see the zeal of some young people, we cannot deny that they love the Lord and pursue the Lord. Nevertheless, they still have problems within them. Although everyone is different, some of their problems are quite similar to one another. Last year when they were not willing to pursue the Lord and were not zealous for the Lord, they had a particular problem; this year when they are willing to pursue the Lord and are zealous for the Lord, they still have the same problem. When they are being dealt with in one aspect, they have this fundamental problem; when they are being dealt with in another aspect, the problem is still there. Their problem is that whenever someone else finds fault with what they are doing, they always have an excuse. Even if their mistake is very obvious, they are still not willing to admit it. They should not wait until the Lord comes before they will say, “Sorry, I am wrong.” In fact, it is very rare to hear a young person say, “Sorry, I am wrong.” When people point out their mistakes, they are not only unwilling to admit them, but they also provide many excuses. This is an example of being covered, for they are reluctant to receive light from within.
If we do not receive light for a long time, we will lose our inner feeling and fall into darkness. When others point out our mistakes, we should be able to say, “Sorry, this is my fault. Please forgive me.” If we can do this, we have a clear understanding of light. However, when others find fault with us, we may excuse ourselves, reasoning that our faults are unavoidable. Moreover, when they come to us again, we may continue to defend ourselves. This indicates that our inner being is fully covered and is in darkness. When some people quarrel with their spouse at home, they have an uneasy feeling within them. Actually everyone should have these feelings within, but eventually due to their continual practice of arguing, their inner feeling is lost. Therefore, we should not claim that our actions are reasonable. Even when we do something reasonable, we should not fight for it, because even our “reasonableness” has a little bit of the self in it. As long as we have light and feeling within, we should accept the breaking and the dealing that comes from this light. In this way we will not be in darkness.
We need to repent to the Lord for our inability to see the light. In our church life we read the Bible every day, yet we may not have light. We have the Bible in our mind, yet there is no light within us. We also serve the Lord fervently, but there is no light or reality in our serving, and we do not know why we are serving. Not only so, while we work, our inner being is full of confusion and without light. We live the so-called spiritual life day by day without any fresh spiritual vision and our inner being seems to lack something. Every day we rise up early to read the Bible. Every day we visit people and take care of them, yet we may not have any fresh seeing or fresh feeling within.
A person who lives before the Lord, however, should be shining and fresh every day. Whenever he comes to the Lord, he receives light. This is not the light that he saw yesterday but new light that he sees today. His inner being is always clear and certain about the direction of his serving and the move of the Holy Spirit. Not only does he know the direction of the move of the church, but he also knows God’s purpose for the church on the earth. His inner feeling is always fresh and bright. This kind of person is always learning something new and receiving new shining each day. When people contact him, although outwardly he may not seem to be very affectionate, his inner being is soft and fresh, as clear as crystal, and transparent. Some who are saved, even having received grace from the Lord, would behave in a rough way; their problem is that their heart is not pure enough for the Lord. They are too complicated within, and so when a feeling comes, they are not willing to receive it. We all have the feeling within us, yet often we are not willing to receive the breaking that comes with the feeling. This unwillingness is the rejection of light.
Man does not enter into darkness abruptly; rather, he does so gradually. The setting of the sun is always from morning to afternoon, from afternoon to dusk, and from dusk to evening. Evening, however, is still not the darkest time. All men who enter into darkness do so in a gradual way, without any feeling that it is happening. It is in such an unconscious way that man gradually drifts toward something other than the Lord. This is the result of a lack of light within. Hence, if we feel uneasy or confused in a certain area, this is where we need to receive light and breaking from the Lord. If we receive continuous breaking before the Lord in this way, the light within us will shine brighter and brighter, because the veils in us will be gradually taken away.
For example, suppose I am a person who loves to justify myself. When you come to tell me something and I want to explain the situation to you, my inner being will feel uncomfortable. At that moment, I should immediately receive this feeling, bow my head, and tell the Lord, “O Lord, I will not say anything; even if they misunderstand me, I will still not say anything.” We should not disobey the inner feeling and shining, neither should we disobey the inner vision. Once we have a feeling from the Lord, we should submit to it. Many of us can testify that whenever we stop, right away there is freedom in our spirit. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. Some people are always asking, How do we know if our heart is turned to the Lord? We know that our heart is turned to the Lord when our spirit is free. When we are quarreling with our husband or our wife and we sense that our inner being is not free, we should bow our head immediately and tell the Lord, “O Lord, I would not quarrel anymore.” Once you stop, your inner being will be free, your spirit will be released, and you will be able to praise. If we are like this every morning, then our daily living will be fresh. On the contrary, if we continue to quarrel and to disobey the feeling, I am afraid that throughout the whole day, from the morning to the evening, our inner being will be in confusion and darkness, and our spirit will not be free. Whenever our heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.