Face to Face

We were driving home, the other night, in the dark, during a heavy rain storm. I put my screen wipers on to clear the vision, but discovered that there was a film of grease, or something on the glass, which made it difficult to see out, especially when oncoming car headlights dazzled me. The effect of the rain and the grease was very unpleasant, and I had to pull over into a filling station to buy some glass cleaner. This made some difference, enough for us to be able to continue the journey. However, it wasn’t perfect, and I had to clean the screen again.

I was reminded of the scriptures in 1 Corinthians 13, where Paul comments that our view of God is also limited. It’s as if we’re looking at the reflection of Him in a poor mirror. The King James’ version says it is like seeing through ‘a glass darkly’.
Now that might seem a bit strange, when we consider that Jesus is the full revelation of the Father, and He said that, if anyone had seen Him, they’d seen the Father. If that’s the case, how is it that we can read about Jesus and yet we’re not always overwhelmed with the splendour of God? We can come in worship to Jesus, yet not perceive the Father. What’s wrong?

Of course there are several things, like our own sinfulness and our carnal nature, which can become dominant in our lives, even though we’re believers. However, the main explanation is that we can only see this poorly reflected image of God, because of the limitations of our humanity. We’re unable to cope with the full vision of God’s glory. One day we’ll see Him face to face, as Paul says, and we can look forward to that with eagerness. But, while we’re limited to living in our earthly body, we can’t have a completely clear view of God. Even having 20/20 eyesight doesn’t help, because it’s a spiritual matter, rather than a physical one.

If you feel a bit frustrated, because of all this, don’t despair. The time will come when your vision will clear. You’ll be able to experience the fullness of His presence, when you meet Him in the life to come. In the meantime, enjoy the revelation that Jesus has brought, and ask Him to keep cleaning your spiritual glasses.

Prayer: Father, thank You that we can have a glimpse of Your glory, as we look at Jesus. Lord, we want more, and we look forward to having that full revelation in the life to come. Please keep cleaning our vision spiritually of anything that’s blurring our view. Amen.