For the Lord is righteous and He loves righteousness (integrity, justice, right actions and attitudes). The upright will behold His face. (vs. 7)
What must that be like - to see the face of God? I often wonder what He will look like. Before my mother died, we spent many hours talking about heaven because she was preparing to go there. It is a rather lonesome journey, dying of cancer in a house with a husband who has betrayed you after 40 some odd years of marriage. Death is solitary, anyway. Like birth, you leave by yourself. So we talked. What is the journey to heaven like? Will her parents and siblings be there to greet her? What will her first glimpse of Jesus be like? His radiance enveloping her - His arms receiving her. If there is any way, Mother, let me know you are there when that time comes. She promised.
On the day of her funeral, I was sitting on the back porch where we had sat much of that summer talking of her life and her death. Relatives and friends were in my mother's kitchen bustling about without her usual presence, and that unnerved me. The solitude on the back porch on that scorching day in August was a welcome retreat for me. I looked out over Mother's garden - bumble bees flitting around her roses and birds perching in the foliage of her large trees. Not much on my mind. Just glad to be away from people. I looked up at the perfectly blue sky. And there she was! Her face before me, radiant, aglow with heaven.
"It's all right, precious. It's all right." Smiling...more than smiling, but I don't have a word for it. My mother floating before me, my soul caressed with comfort and the joy of her peace. She had seen Him and was beautiful with the aura of that glance.
I know it was not Mother, really, but my Father allowing me a glimpse of what He saw. A child restored to glory. A precious daughter made whole in His presence. He was looking at her in that same moment. His face beholding my mother. I have never thought about heaven in the same way since.
What do we do with the face of God? We already know that He is watching us - looking intently into our lives to test our attitudes and actions. If we acknowledge that fact, and love Him as He loves us, we will be looking for a smile there. A "well done!" He will exult over you with joy! ....He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy!" (Zephaniah 3) Imagine the heart of your God shouting with joy over you because He loves you so much!!!
We saw the face of God, you know. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1) I cringe when I think of what we did with it. And after weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they kneeled down before Him and mocked Him, saying: "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they spat in His face and took the reed and began to beat Him on His head. This we did to the God who would sing over us with joy. Then He was beaten with rods until He was unrecognizable, hung naked on a cross, and offered up as the ultimate sacrifice for my sin.
My sin still is spit upon His face. My rebellion no less hurtful than the beating. For I know that He died for me. How then can I live in mocking of His love. I have before. I never intend to again. I know Him better now, so I would seek to heal His woundedness and cause His face to smile. I don't always get it right, so don't expect perfection from me. But expect me to try. Chide me when I don't, please! For someday I will behold Him face to face. "Those who win the victory will be dressed in white clothes. And I will not erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will say they belong to Me before my Father and the angels. (Rev. 3) My Jesus will look my way, extend His hand to me, and draw me to His side, presenting me to the Father as one who belongs to Them. And I will see His face.
What must that be like - to see the face of God? I often wonder what He will look like. Before my mother died, we spent many hours talking about heaven because she was preparing to go there. It is a rather lonesome journey, dying of cancer in a house with a husband who has betrayed you after 40 some odd years of marriage. Death is solitary, anyway. Like birth, you leave by yourself. So we talked. What is the journey to heaven like? Will her parents and siblings be there to greet her? What will her first glimpse of Jesus be like? His radiance enveloping her - His arms receiving her. If there is any way, Mother, let me know you are there when that time comes. She promised.
On the day of her funeral, I was sitting on the back porch where we had sat much of that summer talking of her life and her death. Relatives and friends were in my mother's kitchen bustling about without her usual presence, and that unnerved me. The solitude on the back porch on that scorching day in August was a welcome retreat for me. I looked out over Mother's garden - bumble bees flitting around her roses and birds perching in the foliage of her large trees. Not much on my mind. Just glad to be away from people. I looked up at the perfectly blue sky. And there she was! Her face before me, radiant, aglow with heaven.
"It's all right, precious. It's all right." Smiling...more than smiling, but I don't have a word for it. My mother floating before me, my soul caressed with comfort and the joy of her peace. She had seen Him and was beautiful with the aura of that glance.
I know it was not Mother, really, but my Father allowing me a glimpse of what He saw. A child restored to glory. A precious daughter made whole in His presence. He was looking at her in that same moment. His face beholding my mother. I have never thought about heaven in the same way since.
What do we do with the face of God? We already know that He is watching us - looking intently into our lives to test our attitudes and actions. If we acknowledge that fact, and love Him as He loves us, we will be looking for a smile there. A "well done!" He will exult over you with joy! ....He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy!" (Zephaniah 3) Imagine the heart of your God shouting with joy over you because He loves you so much!!!
We saw the face of God, you know. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. (John 1) I cringe when I think of what we did with it. And after weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they kneeled down before Him and mocked Him, saying: "Hail, King of the Jews!" And they spat in His face and took the reed and began to beat Him on His head. This we did to the God who would sing over us with joy. Then He was beaten with rods until He was unrecognizable, hung naked on a cross, and offered up as the ultimate sacrifice for my sin.
My sin still is spit upon His face. My rebellion no less hurtful than the beating. For I know that He died for me. How then can I live in mocking of His love. I have before. I never intend to again. I know Him better now, so I would seek to heal His woundedness and cause His face to smile. I don't always get it right, so don't expect perfection from me. But expect me to try. Chide me when I don't, please! For someday I will behold Him face to face. "Those who win the victory will be dressed in white clothes. And I will not erase their names from the Book of Life, but I will say they belong to Me before my Father and the angels. (Rev. 3) My Jesus will look my way, extend His hand to me, and draw me to His side, presenting me to the Father as one who belongs to Them. And I will see His face.
No comments:
Post a Comment