We become like what we behold (2 Cor. 4)

We'll start today's discussion by swiping the last verse of chapter 3. After all, the divisions into chapters and verses are frequently arbitrary, and not part of the original text.

2Co 3:18 Ve biz hepimiz peçesiz yüzle Rab'bin yüceliğini görerek yücelik üstüne yücelikle O'na benzer olmak üzere değiştiriliyoruz. Bu da Ruh olan Rab sayesinde oluyor.

A few words:

• peçesiz -- unveiled. Combines peçe (veil) with the negating suffix -siz.
  
• yüzle -- with the face. Combines yüz (face) with the "with" suffix -le.
  
• değiştiriliyoruz -- we are transformed.
  

It's an astonishing claim. As Christians, we assert that we can understand the character of God by considering the biography of Jesus. One ordinary life, so mundane that even his brothers had no idea that there was anything special about this carpenter's son from Nazareth.[1] Furthermore, our book teaches us that paying attention to this Jesus is good for us:

2Co 4:6 Çünkü, "Işık karanlıktan parlayacak" diyen Tanrı, İsa Mesih'in yüzünde parlayan kendi yüceliğini tanımamızdan doğan ışığı bize vermek için yüreklerimizi aydınlattı.
2Co 4:7 Üstün gücün bizden değil, Tanrı'dan kaynaklandığı bilinsin diye bu hazineye toprak kaplar içinde sahibiz.

Again, a few words:

• Işık -- light
  
• karanlıktan -- from darkness
  
• parlayacak -- will shine, twinkle, sparkle
  
• yüreklerimizi -- our hearts
  
• aydınlattı -- has shone. When you wish a Turk "Gün aydın," you are wishing him a bright, a shining, day.

Those who encounter the living Jesus Christ by faith typically experience a fresh insight into the purposes and significance of life. Peter describes this as "the day dawns, and the day star rises in your heart."

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[1] Taxation makes family formation very difficult in Italy. The typical Italian family has fewer than two children. This means that, in another few generations, there will be far fewer Italians. A topical joke asserts that Jesus must have been Italian -- after all, he was 30, still living at home, single, hung around with the guys, and his mother thought he was God!