A Framework of Faith/Vision of Christ

Such is the beauty and radiance of his face that if all the souls in hell were to gaze upon the radiance of his face, they would not notice the suffering and punishment and torture of hell. Such is the sanctity of his form, that whoever gazed upon his face would be unable to commit a sin thereafter.

  - Anonymous, In Tenga Bithnua (Old early Irish, 9th century)

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.

  - Revelation 1.17

There is glory in the face of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 4.6), glory to enliven our souls, embolden our witness, and sustain us in the midst of trials and burdens. The Lord calls us to seek His face, and we must do so, fully expecting that we may catch a glimpse, somewhat as John did, of the radiance and glory disclosed there (Ps. 27.8).

It may only be with the eye of the heart (Eph. 1.18) that we can see Him, but as long as this glimpse is grounded in what the Scriptures reveal, it will be a true vision, one powerful enough to transform us little by little.

Seeking the face of Jesus requires that we turn to those various descriptions of Him in glory - such as we have mentioned here, and in many other places - and bring them together with the eye of the heart into a comprehensive vision of an unseen but true reality. Then we mmust wait, wait, wait - as if we were studying one of those "magic eye" pictures - until it pleases the Lord to make His visage known to us, even if only for a fleeting moment.

Don't let anyone tell you that such an experience is not possible. If our relationship with the risen and reigning Christ is always only an intellectual one, rather than an experiential one, our walk of faith will lack some of the dynamic power which comes to those who can say with full confidence, "I have seen the Lord."

Can you say that? Is the eye of your heart so exercised in spiritual vision and waiting that you have actually engaged the radiace of Jesus' face and felt the weight of glory bearing down on you for fullness of joy and pleasures forever more? If not, well, there's no time like the present to begin.

Today at The Fellowship of Ailbe

What do you think is the greatest problem facing American higher education today? Check out the latest ReVision column for my take.

This week In the Gates will be dealing with the question of slavery, as we continue working through the eighth commandment.

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T. M. Moore, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.