This is part three of a series on the face of God. Go back in the blog to part one to get a better context for this part.
Ps 17:15- This is a prayer of David, a man after God’s own heart. In verse two David says “you see those who do right”, giving us hope when we suffer. He remembers the testing of the Lord, and is confident that he has determined not to sin anymore. Did you know you could do that? Actually decide to live as holy a life as you possible can? Verse five says that he has stayed on the paths of life, and knows that God will listen to his prayers. This is not the self -righteous ramblings of an egotistic king. These are the broken cries of a man who is sold out to see and know his God. God rewards this kind of commitment with verse fifteen, where David says with confidence “ Because I am righteous, I will see you, I will see you face to face.” Here is the promise again, A loving God who wants all of us to have this experience.
In Psalm 80, David asks God to shine his face down on them, to save them. This doesn’t sound like a death sentence to me, it sounds like hopeful renewal and blessing when asking for God’s face to shine down.
Now we come to Jesus, the savior of the world. He had a lot to say about seeing and being seen. He made it clears that If you see me ( Jesus) you are looking at GOD. Here are some snippets of moments where Jesus spoke about seeing God and being seen by God….
John 5:37-38- Jesus tells unbelieving religious leaders that they have never seen God face to face, and never will if they stay hard hearted. He reminds them that he is doing what God wants Him to do, but they are blind guides who can’t see due to their hard hearts. He tells them they are looking in the wrong places to find salvation, and they are leading others away.
John 9:37- A blind man healed by Jesus comes to him to thank him. Jesus asks him if He believes in the Son of Man. The man said he would if he met him. Jesus exclaims “ You have seen him, and he is speaking to you!” The man falls down and worships Jesus. Then Jesus reminds the crowd why He came. It was to bring sight to the blind, and to condemn those who claim to see but are blind guides. Once again, Jesus announces that man can now see God face to face through a relationship with Jesus.
John 12:44-47- Jesus stands up in the crowd and shouts “ If you are trusting me you are also trusting the one who sent me, for when you are seeing me you are seeing the one who send me” This is a direct invitation to anyone seeking a face to face relationship with God. All this seeing and being seen talk is directed to people who once thought that a personal, intimate, eternal relationship with the creator God was not possible. Jesus came as the expression of the Love of God, His personal insertion into the human condition, willing to die for our sins in order to make this unbroken fellowship possible.
John 14:7-11- Jesus is talking with the disciples, and they are, as they often were, confused, mistaken, and anxious. It kind of reminds me of myself sometimes. Spiritual truth is standing right in front of them, but they can’t see it because other things are in the way. Phillip tries to impress Jesus with his faith by saying “show us the father and we will be satisfied” Jesus responds by saying “After all this time with me Phillip you still can’t see it? When you look at me you are looking at the Father!” Jesus reminded them that He was actually God in the flesh, part of the intertwined trinity that would include the miraculous inhabitation of His spirit in every believer alive today.
John 20:29 is where Jesus speaks to us directly. Jesus appears to the disciples after his resurrection. He seeks out Thomas, who earlier had said he wouldn’t believe unless He put his hand in Jesus’ side. Jesus shows up and invites Thomas to touch and believe. Thomas exclaims that he now believes. Jesus then says “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without physically seeing me”. This is speaking to all of us who have experienced Jesus this side of the cross. The spiritual invasion into our souls by God’s spirit creates an intimacy not possible on the other side of the cross. People saw Jesus face to face, but we know experience him deeply through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This connection to the dimension of eternity can have life changing effects if we fully understand and embrace our inheritance from Jesus Christ.
One of the best pictures we get of the new covenant relationship with God was seen on the day of Jesus’ death on the cross. Witnesses told of the Temple veil being torn in half, exposing the inner court to anybody who walked by. You have to understand why this was such a big deal. First of all, the curtain wasn’t what your mother used to cover the windows at night. It was 60 feet high, 30 feet wide, and 4 inches thick! It was placed there in the Temple to protect unprepared men from dying. The veil was torn on the day Jesus died in order to signify that God was now open to a face to face relationship again with His beloved creation now through His beloved Son Jesus. What an awesome display of this new covenant with all men! God making His love for us clear, replacing the law based way of living with grace, mercy, and relationship!
2 Cor 3:7-18- The old testament experience with God kept Him hidden away from the people because their hearts were hard. They did not want to see God, so they didn’t. Verse 14 reminds us that even today when the word of God Is read, many people harden their heart and do not understand it. Paul says this “veil” cannot be removed until they receive Jesus Christ as savior. The new covenant (Jesus Christ) allows us to see God and live, in fact we must see God to live! The Holy Spirit makes us right with God, and allows us to experience Him as much as we want to. That is the problem, as much as WE want to. Many ask for more of God, but are they willing to turn their eyes upon Jesus, look full In His wonderful face, so the things of the earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace. That is one of my favorite hymns! There are some changes that need to take place in order to experience this intimate walk with God. We need to change where we are looking, what our focus is, and where we are keeping our focus on everyday. This is a deliberate seeking of God, and He promises to reward it with his presence!
1Jn 4:13-18- The apostle John tells us that we can face Jesus (GOD) with confidence because the love of God is in us! John says that nobody has ever seen God, buy now in Jesus they can experience something more intimate than seeing God. They can actually have God take up residence inside them. Wow, talk about a change in how we see God! This is amazing, that God would provide a way to enter our spiritual essence, and bring us new life at the deepest level of our need. We aren’t just thinking differently, we are a new, profoundly different being!
God has always wanted a face to face relationship with us, from the very beginning. When sin entered the world, the first thing man did was hide from God. The terrible result of his desire to be like God made him aware of everything, especially his nakedness. Genesis says God came searching for Adam, as if the God of creation couldn’t see him behind the hydrangea bush. ( movie buffs will know which famous Christmas movie I just referenced!) The key idea here was that God was searching, looking, desiring connection with His beloved creation. The enemy wants us to run from God in fear, anger, ignorance, or rebellion, it doesn’t matter, just as long as we run. Guess what, God runs faster! He is always there, always looking always loving. Psalms 139 paints a beautiful picture of This love focused father. Overwhelmed with the ramifications of the thought, the writer tries to come up with a place that God would not go to be with us. Verse 7 starts with the litany of love by saying “ I can never escape from your spirit, I can never get away from your presence”. Then comes the Google Map challenge that God never fails. Go to heaven, you are there; go to the grave, you are there; ride in to sunrise, yep, still there; dwell in the farthest ocean, and you’re STILL there! He sets up a scenario about asking darkness to hide him ( something I did when I was at the bottom), asking dark to hide me from you, but sorry, God just turns on the light and says “ I found you my love!”. Then he makes the most interesting statement I want to spend some time on. Verse 12 says “ But even in darkness I can’t hide from you, because to you the night shines as bright as day, darkness and light are the same to you. WHAT? Darkness and light are the same? I thought they were opposites? Maybe here on earth, confined by time and space they are, but apparently not to the God who created them. Verses 11 and 12 talk about the writer trying to hide in darkness, to get away from God, to not see Him- for whatever reason we all have- or will- from time to time to actually want that to happen. The problem is, darkness cannot exist in God’s presence. When God shines His love light, darkness scatters, and we are lit up with the God who sees us in the darkness and loves what He sees! Imagine living life knowing that no matter how dark it gets, The God of love and light is there, lighting up the land for you to see!
I hope this short study on all things seen will encourage you to look further into the love story that is the bible. Ask God to open your eyes to see the truth about who God is, who you are, and how much God loves what He sees. You are His creation, and He longs to reconnect with you now, everyday, and into eternity. Start reading at the gospel of John, circle all the references to sight, seeing, eyes, etc. explore for yourself this God who loves what He sees, and ask for the sight to see Him better.
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