Devotion / A beatific vision

Face to face

Who in history would you like to meet face to face? Perhaps you answered Abraham Lincoln, Saint Paul, or even King David. The closest I ever came to greeting a well-known person was when Henry Aaron signed my Milwaukee Braves jersey. That explains how my life has gone. Perhaps you’ve fared better. In the Bible we read of Peter, James, and John who met Moses and Elijah face to face on the Mount of Transfiguration. They were thrilled and didn’t want to leave!

Perhaps the most precious blessing we will enjoy in heaven is called the beatific vision. The term literally means the sight that makes us happy. In other words, we will see God face to face. Paul writes of this hope in 1 Corinthians 13:12, Now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.

Seeing God

Presently God permits us to see him through his creation and his Word. Throughout Scripture, God refused to let anyone see his face. Even Moses was not allowed to see God’s unveiled glory. Exodus 33:18-20 relates, The LORD said, ‘I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you. . . . But, you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.’

But there is more. We will also see Jesus for the very first time. What an experience that will be! We will have the opportunity to talk with Jesus and to thank him for his love and sacrifice for us.

Fanny Crosby was a remarkable Christian woman. Living to the age of 94, Fanny was known for her gift of writing hymn lyrics. In fact, she is credited with over 10,000 hymns—all written while she was blind. She once commented on her disability: If I had been given a choice at birth, I would have asked to be blind . . . for when I get to heaven, the first face I see will be the one who died for me.

Job admitted in Job 19:25-27, I know that my redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand on the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God;   I myself will see him with my own eyes—I, and not another. How my heart yearns within me! How clear that sight will be. We may never want to take our eyes off of him again.

by Reynold R. Kremer