Seeing Him as He IS

Beloved, now we are children of God,
and it has not appeared as yet what we will be.
We know that when He appears, we will be like Him,
because we will be seeing Him as He is.
1 John 3:2 NASB

This verse sent shivers down my spine, because this is the answer to my question: “Is it just the act of seeing, or is it all about seeing YOU, God?” I always thought that the no-more-tears, radiant being part of heaven was achieved in the act of dying in this life and stepping over into the eternal. But John seems to be saying that our seeing Christ “just as He is” is what finalizes our likeness to Him. How astonishing!

Sometimes I forget that the very act of “seeing” is a literal absorption of light. Our eyes are actual gateways for light rays reflected off objects. Every part of the human eye works in tandem to receive light and convert it to electrical impulses, which are sent to the brain, via the optic nerve, to produce images. So everything we see represents light that we’ve absorbed and processed. Even the smallest glimpse of the Almighty, then, is an absorption of Light and Love Himself!

I won’t completely geek out and cover this page with reflections on physiology and quantum mechanics – mostly because I understand so little of both ­­– but I will say that there is clearly much more at stake in what my eyes alight on than I’ve ever previously considered.

I am regularly amazed at the vastness of God, even in the little things. He works on every level possible, all the time. I can only grasp a few of those levels when He shows me, but even that spec is enough to hint at the incomprehensibly infinite Mind of our Creator—and I am reduced to trembling awe and weepy excitement at Who He is. This is yet another perfectly timed reminder to the child I am that my Father has excellent and inconceivable reasons for everything He does and says and asks.

For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways My ways, says the Lord.
Is. 55:8 AMP

Indeed they are not! Jesus’ declaration that “your eye is the lamp of your body” has new clarity and urgency for me now. I have experienced the healing power of seeing what God sees, and I’ve been transformed by a mere glimpse of His Heart. Because of this, I am likewise aware that my spirit and my body – my very life – are vulnerable to a lingering look at the dark. I do not give the darkness equal power to affect me, because God has no equal, but Jesus issued a warning for a reason that I now begin to comprehend.

We are invaded by what we look at, and that is both frightening and exhilarating to me!

But all of us who are Christians have no veils on our faces,
but reflect like mirrors the glory of the Lord.
We are transfigured by the Spirit of the Lord
uin ever-increasing splendour into His own image.
2 Corinthians 3:18 PHILLIPS