Blessed are the pure in heart, for they see God. We explored purity of heart. https://wp.me/p22zu5-e0

Now we enjoy the contentment that is promised as a result.

Laughably Impossible!

As a kid devouring Exploration and Adventure magazines, I dreamed of Yosemite. When we emigrated to the U.S. in 1989 and I finally stood at that first tunnel view, the anticipation of years met reality, creating a rare, reverent awe, bordering on ecstasy. But the awe I want to explore goes beyond that. Yosemite is grand, but safe. What Jesus promises in the Beatitudes is something similar yet entirely different:

God is not simply more magnificent than Yosemite. He is more like the sun. Even that comparison is feeble, God is Creator and therefore distinct from creation, as such He transcends all attributes and defies all description. By every natural measure, to draw near would be to vaporize. The distance between the Creator and His creatures is greater than anything we can imagine. How can we survive the unveiled presence of the One whose very being is beyond our capacity to endure?

Yet Jesus makes this extraordinary promise: “They shall see God.” Not merely hear about Him. Not merely catch glimpses of His presence. Not merely stand at a safe distance and wonder. We shall see Him!

Glimpses of Glory

God has not left us without a glimpse of what awaits us. On the mountain of Transfiguration, that reality broke through in a single blinding scene. Jesus was changed before the disciples’ eyes, His face shining like the sun and His garments dazzling white. In that singular flash of majesty, the hidden glory beneath His familiar appearance was briefly unmasked, carrying the exact visual image of the “sun” and the overwhelming fear of unveiled glory.

The sight overwhelmed them with terror. This was only a restrained glimpse into a Presence too immense for human eyes to fully sustain.

These are glimpses, but they are not yet the fulfillment of the promise.

Transfigured

How, then, can we begin to know this glory?

Paul prays in Ephesians 1:18 that “the eyes of your understanding” would be enlightened, so that we may know Him better.

He is asking that the inner eyes of our hearts be opened to see what we could not otherwise grasp. The Holy Spirit makes the things of God real to us, deepening our understanding and drawing us into closer communion with Him.

As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 3:18:

“But we all … beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory.”

We are changed as we behold Him. Our communion can become sweeter by the day. We begin to understand His character more deeply and reflect more of His likeness in our own lives.

This is a foretaste of the promise. It is real, and it can be spectacular. But it is still a foretaste, like seeing the first light of dawn before the sun rises in its full brilliance.

Indescribable

God has put eternity in our hearts. (Ecclesiastes 3:11)  Beneath our many desires lies a longing that nothing in this world can finally satisfy. We search for meaning, fulfillment, and something that will make us whole. Yet our deepest longing is not finally for something God gives us, but for God Himself.

We catch glimpses now, but cannot comprehend what it will mean to see Him without the limitations of our present existence. We come to the limits of language. We can speak of what we know, but the reality that awaits us stretches beyond what we can imagine.

The promise is not simply that we will understand more, experience more, or receive more. It is that we shall see God Himself.

Ultimately

The ultimate fulfillment lies ahead. We are still in process, awaiting the resurrection, when what is perishable puts on the imperishable. We cannot yet comprehend what that transformation will mean. How could we, when we cannot even imagine what it will be like to see God as He is?

But this is the astonishing promise of the Beatitude. We will not merely be permitted a fleeting glimpse. We will not be overcome and driven away. We shall see Him face to face, and live! He has prepared a room for us in His mansion.

The Holy Spirit gives us a foretaste now, opening the eyes of our understanding and drawing us into an ever-deepening friendship with Him. Our communion can become sweeter by the day, but even our richest experiences are only the first light of dawn.

The resurrection will bring the full promise. The God whose presence we could never endure by our own strength will become the eternal delight of our hearts. The impossible will become our everlasting experience, not because we have become sufficient for the task, but because God’s grace has brought us home.

And then, at last, we shall see Him face to face.

We shall be home with God.

Catch up: https://wp.me/p22zu5-ce

Next: Impact of the Attitudes of Being: Merciful

(under Construction)