03/27/2022
What do you see in your mind’s eye when you envision Jesus? When at last you behold God’s glory will it be all that you have imagined, greater than you could have possibly guessed, or do you fear that His appearance will disappoint you in some way? Well, in this world we see with our eyes, but on that day when we behold Him face to face, our eyesight will yield to our other senses, and we will see Him more completely with our entire being, our heart, and our soul… it will overwhelm us like lightning. On that day all of creation will meet us in Him, and Him in us, for the first magnificent time.
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.”
Romans 8:18-19 ESV
Long ago I was drowning in a lake, and a miracle occurred. I was saved by being transported to the shore, but the most amazing part of that experience was not my rescue, it was the light, the joy, the peace, and the Word I received that day. Those few moments of being caught up in the glory of the Lord were so intensely beautiful, and all consuming, that it is hard to stay here in this world where I can only remember that instant with, and in, Him. When I read the scripture that refers to seeing as though through a glass darkly, I have personal knowledge of what that is like, and friends, no words can describe what awaits us.
“For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.”
1 Corinthians 13:12 KJV
A few years ago my wife and I went to Montana for her niece’s destination wedding in the town of Whitefish. We were surrounded by mountains, and planned an excursion into Glacier National Park. Ann had never travelled far from our home in Tennessee, and thought that mountains were like what she had found in the Smoky Mountains. Growing up in Germany I had experienced the Alps, and knew the majesty that one feels when seeing them. Try as I might, I could not make her understand the grandeur that awaited us… then, as we drove up the “Going to the Sun Road”, her eyes were opened for the first time, and I saw on her face the awe, and spirit quickening revelation they possess as it rushed over her, and she truly saw them in all of their earthly glory. Pictures don’t do them Justice, words can’t describe their effect on us, their power is awe inspiring, and the beauty of all else pales in comparison to them. On that day she understood what I had been unable to convey. To a much lesser degree this is how I felt as I was drowning in the lake long ago when I was suddenly engulfed by the glory of God… only by experiencing it can we actually know what that is, and nothing can prepare us for that moment. Now we see darkly and are transformed, but then we will be changed into the same image… knowing completely what glory to glory means.
“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
2 Corinthians 3:18 KJV
We can be lifted up from the depths, or stand before Him on the mountain peaks, but nothing can prepare us for the instant when we come to be with Him… are you ready? Is your spirit leaping in you?
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your Son Jesus who prepares us to be with you by your grace that flows through Him. Thank you Lord for your Holy Spirit that helps us in our transformation as we become more like you each day… measured by measure. Open our senses to your magnificent glory Father, so that on that day when we are resurrected as Christ was resurrected, we will come to know the truth of your glory in its fullest. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who loves us, and desires us to be with you always. Praised be your name for every glimpse of you we receive as an encouragement during our walk into you. Merciful are you who disciplines us, and makes us righteous. Amazing is your grace that completes us. As we walk with Jesus towards you, wash the remnants of the world, our sin, from us with His precious blood. Make us worthy in Him, and judge us ready to be in you as you are in Him. Raise us up, for this is your promise, not that we simply be like Lazarus who saw your glory, yet was meant to die again, but like Jesus who lives in the midst of your glory forevermore, for all eternity. Hear our voices as we sing your praise, and our chanting as we cry out “Holy, Holy, Holy, is our God, who was, and is, and is to come!”
“Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.”
John 11:40-43 KJV
Rich Forbes