Veiled No More

Unmasking the Image of God

In the not-so-distant past, wearing a mask in public became a symbol of public virtue—or of personal oppression, depending on your political lens. What began as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic quickly evolved into a cultural litmus test. Conservatives largely resisted mask mandates as infringements on civil liberty. Progressives often adopted them as signs of social responsibility—and, not infrequently, as subtle rebukes toward those associated with then-President Trump.

Fast forward a few years, and the conversation has flipped. Mounting evidence suggests that mask mandates did more harm than good. And yet, in a strange twist, the very thing people were once required to wear in public is now causing suspicion. Those who choose to cover their faces today—especially in government buildings or public protests—are often met with hostility. “Why are you hiding?” becomes the new challenge.

Ironically, those who wear masks now often do so not to comply with authority, but to protect themselves from it. Independent journalists and civil rights auditors are using masks to guard their identity. So just a few years after society demanded face coverings, it now demands face exposure—as a matter of public trust.

It all feels a little unstable. But there’s a deeper question beneath the shifting sands: What does it mean to be an image bearer of God in public?

The Veil and the Glory

In the Old Testament, Moses wore a veil after encountering the glory of God on Mount Sinai. The people were terrified by the radiance on his face, and the veil was an act of humility—perhaps even mercy.

But Paul, writing in 2 Corinthians 3, gives us the spiritual interpretation. The veil, he says, was also symbolic: it represented a fading glory, and a people not yet ready to behold the fullness of God. But in Christ, everything changes.

"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image." (2 Cor. 3:17–18)

The mark of the new covenant isn’t fear, but freedom. Not hiding, but revealing. Not fading glory, but ever-increasing likeness to Christ. The Christian life is not a veiled one. We are called to live with unveiled faces—because in Christ, there is nothing to fear and nothing to hide.

The Christocratic Ethic

A Christocracy is not a surveillance state, nor is it anarchy. It is a society governed by truth—because it is governed by Christ.

We don’t rip masks off others. We remove our own. We don't demand visibility from strangers while hiding behind layers of curated self. We step into the public square—not because we have nothing to hide, but because Christ has become our righteousness. In Him, we are secure.

But here’s the necessary caveat: some still wear masks out of real need. There are people with compromised immune systems, chronic anxiety, or trauma that makes public exposure deeply uncomfortable. Some may simply need a sense of security to function.

Their dignity is not diminished. A mask does not erase the image of God. In a Christocratic society, the ideal is unveiled trust—but the path there is paved with mercy. Christ bore with the weak. So should we.

The Call to Behold and Reflect

We live in a culture that cannot decide whether to demand visibility or protect anonymity. In Christ, we are offered something better: transformation. "Beholding the glory of the Lord, we are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another."

This transformation isn’t just spiritual. It’s social, moral, cultural. A Christocracy is a society of truth-tellers. Of unveiled faces. Of people secure enough in Christ to live without disguise.

Not because we’re better.

But because we’re His.

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