For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

   - 2 Corinthians 4.6

It were my soul’s desire to imitate my King,
It were my soul’s desire His ceaseless praise to sing.
It were my soul’s desire when heaven’s gate is won
To find my soul’s desire clear shining like the sun.

   - Anonymous, “The Soul’s Desire,” Early Irish

The longing of the soul is to participate in God. Not everyone recognizes this, not even everyone who calls himself a Christian. We must be taught to recognize in our soul this deep hunger and longing for God, because, as Augustine observed, our soul will never find rest until it finds it in Him.

Happily, this is God’s longing for our soul as well, which He mediates and satisfies through His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. In the face of Jesus is all the radiating glory of God we need in order to know God and enter more completely into Him.

But what does this mean, to see the face of Jesus?

The face of God in Scripture is often associated with the Word and Spirit of God (cf. Ps. 119.135, Ezek. 39.29). Since the Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus and the Word is focused above all on Jesus (Jn. 5.39), we must believe that the face of Jesus will emerge from the pages of Scripture as we read, study, meditate, and wait on the Spirit of God to illuminate the eyes of our hearts.

Have you ever done one of those “Magic Eye” pictures? You look at a repetitious pattern of birds or flowers or whatever, having been told that a 3-D image of, say, the Parthenon is concealed in there somewhere. If you concentrate carefully and look with anticipation, sure enough, the Parthenon emerges in 3-D, so real you could almost put your hand into it.

This is what it means, led by His Spirit, to see Jesus’ face in His Word.

But there are in Scripture also ample descriptions of the face of Jesus to lift our spirits, inspire our minds, and fuel our longing for deeper intimacy with Him (cf. Rev. 1; Ps. 45; etc.). By taking these as our particular focus – in meditation, prayer, singing, and conversation with other believers – we can begin to nurture a clearer and more compelling vision of the face of Jesus. As we do, the glory of God will enfold us, pervade us, subsume us, and work its transforming power in us to grant us more of the eternal life which is ours in Jesus (Jn. 17.3), as the Spirit of God transforms us, albeit ever so slightly, into that image we now see (2 Cor. 3.12-18).

God has prepared the way for us to draw closer to Him and satisfy the deep desire of our souls. In the varied genre, themes, and books of Scripture, Jesus is waiting to draw you into His glory.

Now, will we take Him up on it?

Psalm 17.15 (Park Street: “All You that Fear Jehovah’s Name”)
But as for me, Lord, save and bless! Let me behold Your righteousness.
Your face in glory I would see, and thus forever blessèd be,
And thus forever blessèd be.

Grant me grace, O Lord, and patience and desire, to make the time I need to meet You face to face.