MEDITATION MONDAY: From Glory to Glory

Happy Easter my friends! Our Lord is risen, overcome the grave, forever. And by His grace, He offers a free gift of true life; why on earth would we not live in this each and every moment?
I’m linking up with Naomi today for another Monday’s Musings!

And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 CORINTHIANS 3:18

In this letter to the Corinthians, Paul writes this addressing those who understand Jesus as Lord, and therefore the new freedom from law. Paul reminds us that when we contemplate the Lord’s glory with belief in Him and who He is, we are continually transformed and renewed by His Spirit. What an amazing Truth for all of us, that our God will forever work on our behalf, will never stop showing Himself to people, and we need only trust and submit ourselves to our Father, who we were created for; a purpose “written on the tablets of our hearts.” 

Maybe you’re well in the midst of that understanding, awareness, and complete trust in our Lord Jesus, and have experienced His life-changing presence that is the very reason for our life. Or maybe you have “contemplated” His glory, and are confused; and in the midst of that, have experienced levels of conviction, revelation, and resonance.
This is one small example for me.
There was a time that I was spending all my days calculating that I would put into my body.
I write that statement to the enemy’s shame and to my Lord’s glory, for He worked radical healing in my life so that all that may be of this story is a show of His glory and a song on my heart of His praise. 
All throughout that time, I was convicted when I measured out my food portions, checked menus weeks in advance of going out to eat, and feared many foods. Ever since the first time I saw Cam and Nina’s (one of their videos is above) YouTube videos, I remember becoming more intrigued by the idea of the possibility of “just eating.”
First, just a quick shoutout to these guys; their videography is so impressive and beautiful. And while I no longer watch “What I Eat In A Day” or any food videos unless I’m making food and feel like watching a recipe video, I do still watch these guys when they release new videos because they really rock.
Any way, the way Nina would lick the spoons of her baking, throw ingredients into bowls, just do it, something clicked in me. A buried and neglected part of me went: This is the kind of cooking and food I’m called to. 
“Cassie, do you want a piece of your ice cream cake?”
“Yes, I would love one.”

Johnny’s mom asked me this weekend after our lunch of leftovers from her amazing Easter dinner the night before, after which I’d had strawberry pie with coconut milk ice cream she’d bought especially for my dairy allergy. She also had made a dairy free ice cream with peanut butter crust. She is certainly a talented chef– it was all delicious.
And Johnny’s mom and I had so many wonderful conversations, seeking Christ’s Word and say, and some of them to do with the old me and the new me, which includes a lot more of Him in me. I talked to her about how I’d felt that conviction in the past, and what an indescribable blessing it was to be in her kitchen now, where I’d been before in a different context with her, just cooking, the two of us excitedly spicing things together, talking and laughing, and the food was just food and not a monster twisted and not a threat but just yummy food.
The food itself I’ve been eating as my true self in Christ has felt physically so good. But mentally, and spiritually… the actual eating of food, the act of, say, licking spoons while baking or actually taking a sample in the grocery store or making whatever I feel like/am hungry for for lunch has been, in fact, not much of an experience. At first, yes, there was so much freedom, and I still spend moments each day thanking and praising my God for His victory over what used to be a veil. But where the doctrines in my life used to consist of things mainly to do with food (which were all lies, worldly constructs and therefore impossible to be “the ways God prepared before my creation for me to walk in”–Ephesians 2:10), the only thing the Spirit of God, the Spirit of all Truth has spoken to me about food when I ask Him is this: there’s not really too much of anything to say about it. My body and my Spirit get it. They crave mostly healthy things but love and accept graciously treats, fries, and other things, and planning what those things might be has no place in my life.
And the result? Where the enemy tried to take me away from presence with people in conversations by occupying my mind with food, I have energy that is noticeable to all my loved ones that I praise God for. My time in the Word is long and present. My days are full and full for Him. And He is “continually transforming me for His glory”– therefore showing me other areas of my self and life that are either too much “me” or too much “world,” and oh Lord, “you must increase, and I must decrease.”

And when I was sick, as I contemplated His glory and throughout being ill did love my Lord and believe in my Lord, He certainly did lead me, through His Spirit in different individuals, His Word, and experiences of Him and things clearly not Him, in which a plight through the world trying to fight for me, nothing will ever stop my Lord from fighting for me because He has already won the victory. And what a good, gentle, kind Father He is. “Little by little,” in His timing, for His utmost glory.
And so I pray that you continue to contemplate His glory, dig into His Word, fill your mind and heart with the Life that you were made for. Because He promises to transform you, our perfect God who calls you “My child,” and forever beckons you home.