We’ll See Jesus Face to Face

For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face

1 Corinthians 13:12a

At this Easter season, our hearts turn especially to the amazing gift of salvation that Jesus made possible as He died on the cross for the sins of all who would believe in Him and receive Him as Lord and Savior. Because of His death and resurrection, we have the promise of seeing Him face to face and spending eternity in heaven with Him!

Ever since studying art history, English literature, and the history of Western civilization in college as an adult, I have had the desire to travel and visit the places I have only seen on large screens in the lecture hall or read about in books.  I traveled with a friend on a two-week trip to England soon after we graduated.  Wandering through palaces and castles where many hundreds of years of history have unfolded was an unforgettable experience.  We stood in the bedchamber where King Henry VIII slept four centuries ago and walked through the castle built by the order of William the Conqueror near the end of the 11th century.  We attended a service in the magnificent Canterbury Cathedral where Archbishop Thomas a’ Becket was martyred in the 12th century. We climbed the steps where thousands had come to see his shrine hoping for miracles of healing, pilgrimages that inspired Chaucer’s writing of The Canterbury Tales.  We strolled through art galleries and viewed the original paintings of my favorite Impressionist artists.  We visited the British Museum and saw the original manuscripts of some of the British authors and poets we had both studied so diligently.

            As I reflected on how much greater it is to see these relics of history in person than to merely read about them in textbooks or view them as a slide show, it made me think of what it will be like when we see our Father face to face in heaven.  Scripture tells us that now we see him as through a mirror dimly (1 Corinthians 13:12).  It’s like trying to see in a foggy mirror after a hot shower.  We can’t see a clear image.   We can read about God in the Bible and know Him personally through the indwelling Holy Spirit.  But it is only a shadow of what it will be like when we stand in His presence. 

            Right now, in the limitations of our human body, we could not even see Him in all His glory and live.  But someday we will be changed, and we will be able to stand in His presence and see Him in the fullness of His majesty and glory.  We can read about heaven in the Bible and try to imagine what it will be like, but we are told that things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the human heart, all that God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Corinthians 2:9). 

            We can’t even begin to imagine what it will be like!  The most magnificent cathedral with the sun gleaming through the stained-glass windows and the angelic sound of a boys’ choir filling the vast heights cannot begin to compare with what is yet to come when someday we will be with God in person.  Every knee will bow …and every tongue will confess that Jesus Chris is Lord (Philippians 2:9-11).

            Castles, palaces, works of art, entire civilizations come and go, but God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  And we can be assured that someday we will no longer have to see just a shadow of His glory — we will see Him face to face. 

PERSONAL REFLECTION

Are you putting your faith and hope in anything besides God — financial security, material possessions, a career, physical ability, talents, a husband or wife, children?  All of these are temporary, even if you have them for your entire life here on earth.

Are you spending your life on things that will wither and fade away?  Or are you living your life in the truth of God’s Word, that only what is done for Him, through the strength and ability He provides, will last for all eternity?

Take time to evaluate before God how you are living the life He has given you.  What will be your response when you see Him face to face?  Will it be one of joyful fulfillment of the growing relationship you have had with Him here? 

What changes do you need to make in your life in light of the truth that only the Word of our God stands forever?