Face to Face
We can all agree that seeing someone on a screen feels very different to seeing them in person; many of us have been starved of the latter this year. Why does Paul contrast two ways of seeing in this verse, and what does it have to do with love?
Until Jesus came, no one had ever seen God (John 1:18). At the incarnation, the Word that was face to face with God from before the beginning of time came to be face to face with us. And though this happened more than 2000 years ago, we are still able to see Jesus now—in the pages of the Bible. When we read the Bible, we see Jesus’ reflection and come to know him by faith. But no matter how wonderful the Bible is, how clear a picture of Jesus we get in its pages, it is not Jesus himself. Sinclair writes, “The Bible was not born for us, nor was it crucified for our sins; nor did it rise and ascend into heaven for our justification and glorification. Only Jesus did that.”
One glorious day in the future, we will no longer need the Bible. We won’t need the mirror, because we will see Jesus face to face. What a day that will be! The glory of the Lord will be everywhere: “And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.” (Revelation 21:22-23) And all of this is made possible by God’s love for us.
Jesus’ first coming is meant to make us long for his return; the joy we experience at Christmas is just a reflection of the joy we will have forever in his presence, and the frustrations we feel will disappear in the glory of his love.
Today, reflect on the fact that the Bible is a mirror through which we see Jesus. What difference should that make to the way you approach it? How can your celebrations this Christmas point you to the joy of seeing Jesus as his second coming? Pray that you would fall more in love with Jesus as you read God’s word.
Love Came Down at Christmas by Sinclair B. Ferguson (published by The Good Book Company) available to buy at Eden Christian Bookstore or Amazon.