Meditation for the week of September 9, 2007
Psalm 17:15 As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness. (NKJV)
Seeing the Lord is something that the unsaved should dread, however, it is an experience that the saved anticipate with joy. For the unsaved, the Lord will be a righteous judge who will condemn them for not believing in Him. Hebrews 10:29-31 indicates that those who have spurned the Son of God will be subject to His judgment. That passage reminds us that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God, and I think the author is clear that it is fearful for the unbeliever. John 3:36 says that the wrath of God presently abides on the unbeliever. I would not want to meet the Lord having rejected His gracious and merciful offer of salvation.
For those of us who are believers, however, seeing the Lord is going to be a joyful experience. In John 20:20 the disciples had locked the doors where they were to protect themselves after the crucifixion of the Lord. When the Lord miraculously appeared among them, we read that the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. In 2 Timothy 4:8, Paul was looking forward to an epiphany or a bright appearing of the Lord at the end of his race. He had told Timothy that the time of his departure was near. and likely he knew he was about to be executed. He states that there is a crown awaiting him at THAT DAY. Surely the day of his execution is what he was thinking about. He says that a reward is awaiting everyone who is looking forward to that bright appearing or epiphany of the Lord. I believe that the Lord is the first person we see when we cross over to the other side. It will be awesome to be met by the Lord Who loved us and died for us so we could be with Him for eternity.
David looked forward to seeing the Lord after his resurrection since he says, “I shall be satisfied when I awake in your likeness.†David did not expect to remain in the grave. In Psalm 16:10, David says that the Lord will not abandon his soul to Sheol. Job also expected to see his Redeemer at some point after his death.. In Job 19:26-28, Job says that he knew that his Redeemer lived and that he would see him after his body was destroyed. Whether we first see the Lord upon dying or whether we first see Him when we are resurrected or whether we see Him both times, we will see the Lord after we die. And that will satisfy us and make us glad.
Knowing that we will see the Lord gives us great confidence and assurance in a bright future. I remember standing at the death-bed of my father-in-law and having Satan attack me with the thought that maybe death was final. Later that day, the Lord put into my mind the thought that he had seen the Lord. While I could not find an exact quote that said that in the Scriptures, I realized that the disciples had seen the Lord in John 20 and it had made them glad. Believing that my father-in-law who was a believer in the Lord had seen the Lord made me glad. Looking forward to the day when I will see the Lord takes the sting out of death (1 Corinthians 15:45), and already makes me glad.
Bruce Collins