Seeking the Face of God
Posted: Saturday, July 10, 2010
by Ken McCreless
RMS1437
Greetings Fellow Travelers
What does it mean to seek the Face of God? Why would you even want to?
Let's begin by examining the word "face." My handy-dandy Merriam-Websters Dictionary and Thesaurus lists the word as both a noun and a verb. The obvious definition, and the generally accepted frontrunner, is the area of your body that you are using at this very moment to hold your eyeballs while reading this article. Included in this are your nose and mouth, but not your ears. So, seeking the Face of God, according to this definition, would mean that we want Him to see us, smell us, talk to us, but not hear us.
Next!
This word, "face," has one of the longest entries I have ever seen. As mentioned previously, it is both a noun and a verb. The first entry under "verb" is "to confront brazenly." Now, your initial reaction might be the same one I had- I'm not about to CONFRONT God!
But wait a minute! Let's take a look at "confront." Whenever I think of "confronting" someone I see a precursor to an actual fight, either verbal or physical, or staging an impassioned and adamant plea for retribution, as in "Hey, Sporty! Where are my fries?" Once again, let's turn to the dictionary.
The number one definition is "to face esp. in challenge," second is "to deal unflinchingly with," third is "to cause to face or meet." I think I'm on to something here.
Can a simple "carbon-based life form" have the stones to actually confront a Living God? Is there such a thing as having enough confidence to stand up to the Creator? Yes, if you are ready for the truth about yourself.
Seeking the Face of God means to stand in His presence, to boldly, and, yes, "brazenly," desire an audience with Him for the purpose of confrontation. However, be warned.
When one truly stands in His presence and, with whatever courage and conviction that can be mustered, calls God into question on any subject matter, especially one's own spiritual state, that person will receive an accurate picture, a precise evaluation. It is NEVER a pleasant scene. However, when we are willing to open ourselves up to such an examination-- and accept the verdict-- lives are changed and Grace intervenes.
Oh, sure. We can deny the evidence, we can throw a finger to God and walk away. It is, after all, a confrontation. Think about it, when have you felt like you just had your face slapped without anyone touching you? It was when a hideous and wretched truth about yourself was revealed to you, right? Now, you may have not physically walked away, but you left the scene nonetheless. We've all done it.
Did it spark a change in you? Did you make some adjustments to correct it or did you launch yet another volley of denial to cover it up? Was it something so vile and permanent that you could not even begin to fix it?
Enter Grace. No, I'm not talking about that little girl in third grade History class who always had the best lunches, I mean the Grace provided to mankind by the sacrifice Jesus made on the Cross.
Are YOU ready to seek the Face of God? Can you "handle the truth?" Why does God provide such an opportunity? Simple. 1 st John 4:8; "he that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love."
THIS is seeking the Face of God. It is something we do when we reach a point in our lives when nothing makes sense, when we are abandoned, when we are at "the end of our rope," but not the end of our Hope.
I want to encourage you, dear reader, to be brazen enough to confront God, to truly seek His face. There is hope for you, purchased by Jesus, offered freely and freely offered. There is no need to wait, or to try and make yourself "presentable." God sees you as you are, and loves you- as you are.
Seek His Face, "confront" Him with an open heart and you will be saved.
www.TMBaptist.org
What does it mean to seek the Face of God? Why would you even want to?
Let's begin by examining the word "face." My handy-dandy Merriam-Websters Dictionary and Thesaurus lists the word as both a noun and a verb. The obvious definition, and the generally accepted frontrunner, is the area of your body that you are using at this very moment to hold your eyeballs while reading this article. Included in this are your nose and mouth, but not your ears. So, seeking the Face of God, according to this definition, would mean that we want Him to see us, smell us, talk to us, but not hear us.
This word, "face," has one of the longest entries I have ever seen. As mentioned previously, it is both a noun and a verb. The first entry under "verb" is "to confront brazenly." Now, your initial reaction might be the same one I had- I'm not about to CONFRONT God!
But wait a minute! Let's take a look at "confront." Whenever I think of "confronting" someone I see a precursor to an actual fight, either verbal or physical, or staging an impassioned and adamant plea for retribution, as in "Hey, Sporty! Where are my fries?" Once again, let's turn to the dictionary.
The number one definition is "to face esp. in challenge," second is "to deal unflinchingly with," third is "to cause to face or meet." I think I'm on to something here.
Can a simple "carbon-based life form" have the stones to actually confront a Living God? Is there such a thing as having enough confidence to stand up to the Creator? Yes, if you are ready for the truth about yourself.
Seeking the Face of God means to stand in His presence, to boldly, and, yes, "brazenly," desire an audience with Him for the purpose of confrontation. However, be warned.
When one truly stands in His presence and, with whatever courage and conviction that can be mustered, calls God into question on any subject matter, especially one's own spiritual state, that person will receive an accurate picture, a precise evaluation. It is NEVER a pleasant scene. However, when we are willing to open ourselves up to such an examination-- and accept the verdict-- lives are changed and Grace intervenes.
Oh, sure. We can deny the evidence, we can throw a finger to God and walk away. It is, after all, a confrontation. Think about it, when have you felt like you just had your face slapped without anyone touching you? It was when a hideous and wretched truth about yourself was revealed to you, right? Now, you may have not physically walked away, but you left the scene nonetheless. We've all done it.
Did it spark a change in you? Did you make some adjustments to correct it or did you launch yet another volley of denial to cover it up? Was it something so vile and permanent that you could not even begin to fix it?
Enter Grace. No, I'm not talking about that little girl in third grade History class who always had the best lunches, I mean the Grace provided to mankind by the sacrifice Jesus made on the Cross.
Are YOU ready to seek the Face of God? Can you "handle the truth?" Why does God provide such an opportunity? Simple. 1 st John 4:8; "he that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love."
THIS is seeking the Face of God. It is something we do when we reach a point in our lives when nothing makes sense, when we are abandoned, when we are at "the end of our rope," but not the end of our Hope.
I want to encourage you, dear reader, to be brazen enough to confront God, to truly seek His face. There is hope for you, purchased by Jesus, offered freely and freely offered. There is no need to wait, or to try and make yourself "presentable." God sees you as you are, and loves you- as you are.
Seek His Face, "confront" Him with an open heart and you will be saved.
www.TMBaptist.org
Ken McCreless is just a guy who loves to write, and was born to do so. He is a freelance writer with several projects ongoing, including books and magazines. A huge fan of both irony and history, Ken has dedicated his life and his writing to serve the Lord Jesus Christ.
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More commentsThank You Ken....And your sidekick(in the pic)...for speaking out! Blessings to you! KaliThank you, Kali. That pic was taken at her "I'm a Little Teapot" World Debut. She stuck her feet straight out in front of her right before the camera flashed. I am literally holding her up!
Very nicely done. As they would probably say back in the day, 'Who hath the stones?'Yes, indeed, who does? It takes a LOT of courage to engage in true introspection.Thank you so much, Michael.
wow what are you, a systematic theologian? Great article. Appreciated. ThanksI am! I just need to get my "system" out of the "attic!"Thank you, Michael.
We will face judgement one day, whether it be in this life or the next.Very true, Peter. Will we be ready?
I believe we also confront God for thanks. I thank you for delivering in such a fun way, an article that opens the spirit.Gratitude may be the toughest aspect of a face to Face meeting with God. Who wants to be thankful for all that work and suffering one must endure to be cleansed? It's worth it though, right?Thank you so much for the support.
Beautifully written! Loved the word studies and taking a familiar scripture and "amplifying" it! Great job, Ken1Thank you, Marijo! That means a lot to me for you to say that!
Good on ya mate. Well done. I especially like the part where we must confront ourselves, our weaknesses if we desire to see the face of God, for since we are His children, would he not like to help us upon that confrontation? In going to my weekly meetings, we are taught that we were given weaknesses so that we would remain humble and seek the ultimate message of Love: or as the Savior stated, "He who is greatest is the least among you." POW! BAM! Right between the eyes. Obtain THAT! you humans :O) Tall order indeed. But in order to see the Face of God, in the spiritual sense, is really, first, to be worthy--humble--and then to be there for a reason based in faith not just curiosity. And if faith it is, well, as you said, time for a lesson or two, three, four, five . . . my friend. Well done, bro. Peace!"we were given weaknesses so that we would remain humble," reminds me of Paul's "thorn in the side" that he prayed God would remove, but He would not.Thank you, Sir Jeff, I really appreciate it.
True - God of faith sees you in your conscience that you are and loves you as you are. True - the truth of God welcome you with open heart, make you are cleansed and fresh in your mind instantly. Thank you for sharing this beautiful thought.Thank you so much for stopping by.It's the unconditional love God has for me that has been the hardest to understand. Still, God's love for us IS unconditional, a gift that we need only accept.
I really enjoyed your article and it is very enlightening and true. I'm always wanting God to convict me and try me. and to do this I have to seek his face, his counsel, his grace boldly, ready for a change. Thank you!Thank you, Shonell.It is His voice that will never lead us astray.
Sorry but I think we find God in our interactions with people and our own actions. I would be uncomfortable discussing this with the author.We can see God in action in others, and others can be blessed by Him through us, but to know God we must seek His face- one to one.Thanks for stopping by.
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