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Seeing God

In his book, Disappointed With God, Philip Yancey tells about an experiment the great scientist Isaac Newton once conducted when he stared at the image of the sun reflected in a mirror. The brightness of the sun affected the retina in his eye and he suffered temporary blindness. Even after shutting himself away in a dark room for three days the bright spot didn't fade from his vision. Had he stared much longer, he may have permanently damaged his sight. The human eye simply cannot withstand the brilliant light of the sun.

Yancey explains how the ancient Israelites lived for many years with visible evidence of God in their midst, but of all the thousands who left slavery in Egypt, only two survived seeing God's presence.¹

If we cannot look at the sun, how can we look directly at God? We can't and live, at least not while we are still living in our sinful condition. But we can see God in Jesus, his beloved Son, who came to earth as a man so we could come to God through him—and see God and live.

Because of Christ's sacrifice for us, one day we will see God and Jesus face to face. As Job said, "I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been destroyed, yet in my flesh I will see God; I myself will see him with my own eyes."²

Note: to make sure you will see God face-to-face be sure to read the article, "How to Be Sure You're a Real Christian," at: www.actsweb.org/christian.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. The Word [Jesus Christ] became flesh and made his dwelling among us."³

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you for the assurance that all who have accepted Jesus as their Savior and believe in you will in the end time see you face to face and know you as you truly are. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen."

1. See Numbers 14:30 (KJV).
2. Job 19:25-27 (NIV).
3. John 1:1,14 (NIV).

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