“After six days Jesus took with Him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and lead them up to a high mountain by themselves. There He was transfigured before them. His face shown like the sun, and His closes became as white as the light.” (Matthew 17:1-2 NIV)
It’s only been a few short days, but here I am, perched upon the Mount of Transfiguration for the second time this week. It’s in my prescribed reading for the day (feel free to follow along in the Live Dead Joy devotional) but honestly, I haven’t climbed down the mountain since my encounter in Mark 9 last Wednesday morning. My mind keeps turning over the truth I’ve discovered at this altitude: climbing up and away with Jesus is a privilege, not a punishment.
Yet this morning I am back here and it’s not by chance. I’ve been asking the Lord since midweek: “What do you want me to learn at this elevation?” The divine impression I keep receiving is centered around mortification.
Mortification: the process by which God progressively weakens the power of sin in our lives. The training of a soul to live holy and virtuous.
If rigor mortis is the power of death settling in, then mortification is the power of God setting us free from death.
We know Jesus was transformed on the Mount of Transfiguration. His disciples got a glimpse of His truest Self and it altered their perspective forever. The mountain experience with Jesus is all about this revelation and our response to His glory. Will our flesh begin to fall off our frame? We can cooperate with this process through obedience, we can be restored to our original design as well.
This extended pandemic isolation is a great opportunity to collaborate with mortification. It is a invitation to work hand in hand with the power of God to rid our frames from death forever. We have a window with Jesus to sort through our soul, to learn to align our longing s with His and leave our flesh far behind.
“You were taught, with regard to Your former ways to life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by it’s deceitful desires, and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”
(Ephesians 4:22-23 NIV)
Lord, we are glad to be on the mountain with You – it is a needed intermission. May this altitude expose Your glory and may that revelation shake off our reservations. Mortify us in this upward climb. Get the sin out of our systems. Throw away anything remaining in our frame that shrinks from Your influence. Leach the dead out of our lives and let us live confidently for Your Kingdom’s sake. Amen.