I Can See His Face

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."
(Matthew 5:8)

The Lord drew me to this passage and I'm sure He wants to show us something.

Quite often I pray, "Lord, let me see Your face." Or I encourage others, "to look into the face of Jesus." After all, He says in Psalm 27:8, "Seek My face."

I realize this is almost hypothetical in nature because we are not physically capable of surviving such a divine encounter. And yet, the Lord our God says, "Seek My face" and He promises that we will see Him, if we are pure in heart.

It would be easy to dismiss this promise into the realms of eternity - waiting for the sweet by and by - but somehow I feel as though the Lord wants us to apply this right now.

The Greek word for pure is katharos (kath-ar-oss) meaning "clean, clear, pure". I also looked this word up in Roget's Thesaurus and found descriptive words like pristine, refined, snowy, spotless and stainless.

"Blessed are the PURE in heart."

I believe the pure in heart is the one who has surrendered his/her life to Jesus Christ and not only received forgiveness and cleansing of sin, but also has said, "Jesus, make me more like You."

One of the descriptive words for pure is refined. Immediately, I thought of the refiner's fire - the consuming fire of God that burns away impurities in our soul creating a pure heart. Anyone who says, "Lord, make me more like You" has experienced the refiner's fire.

What about snowy? Spotless?

Isaiah 1:18 reads, "'Come now, and let us reason together,' says the Lord, 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.'"

Ephesians 5:27 states, "That He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she (the Church) should be holy and without blemish."

"Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall SEE God."

Although I have never seen the actual face of God, I know beyond a shadow of doubt that I have spent time in His Presence, surrounded by His glory. Did it just happen? No.

I experience His Presence when I take time to seek HIM, not what He can do for me.

I experience His Presence when I fall on my knees, confessing my sins and ask Him to create a clean heart in me.

I experience His Presence after I have been in the refiner's fire surrendering myself in such a way that I allow Him to burn away the chafe, the impurities that dim my Light - those things that separate me from my God.

And in His Presence, in my spirit, I can see His face - the One that exudes abounding love for me, His Child.

I love You, Lord. Thank You for Your Presence in my life. Thank You for showing me Your glory, for showing me the essence of Who You are. I worship You, Lord. You are precious.