What then shall we say of that happiness to come which is promised to the saints, which we consider to be nothing else but the pure and unmediated contemplation of the Divine Essence itself?
– Eriugena, Periphyseon, Irish, 9th century[1]
Arise, O LORD,
Confront him, cast him down;
Deliver my life from the wicked with Your sword,
With Your hand from men, O LORD,
From men of the world who have their portion in this life,
And whose belly You fill with Your hidden treasure.
They are satisfied with children,
And leave the rest of their possession for their babes.
As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness;
I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.
– Psalm 17.13-15
The great hope of the believer lies beyond this temporal framework, in the heavenly places in Christ, where the glory of God radiates from His face, and we may know fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore (2 Cor. 4.6; Ps. 16.11). A day is coming, every Christian knows, when we will see Jesus as He is; we will be like Him and will know His radiant Presence without hindrance or interruption forever (1 Jn. 3.1-3). We will see Him transfigured, as the disciples did on that mount, and we will be transfigured to be like Him.
But while this is, indeed, the great hope and happiness to come, it is our privilege to enter this great hope here and now, day by day. Like Paul, we can see the glory of God in the face of Jesus and know the transforming power of that glory to bring us joy and true spiritual pleasure every day. Our lives have been hidden with Christ in God, and we are seated with Him in heavenly places (Col. 3.3; Eph. 2.6). We have the Word of God, revealing the glory of Jesus on every page (Jn. 5.39).
We do not have to guess about the face of Jesus, what it may be like, or how glorious it may be. The Scriptures provide abundant descriptions of the Lord, exalted in glory (cf. Pss. 45, 93, 110; Rev. 1). As we meditate on these descriptions and set the Lord before us throughout the day, His face becomes increasingly vivid and His glory is made abundantly real to us. His Presence weighs on us with holy spiritual life and joy, and we realize a foretaste, here and now, of what we shall know forever, then and there.
It is not that we lack ample portraiture to bring us before the glorious face of Jesus Christ; but rather, we lack the will to engage in meditation. For many of us, meditating on the beauty of the Lord is not one of the “one things” which we practice each day as though our hope and joy depended on it (Ps. 27.4).
Consider how long and hard people think about the riches they hope to gain, the children they will bring into the world, the achievements they will realize in their work, the vacation they will take this summer, the legacy they will leave behind. Visions of such hoped-for boons fill the minds of people by day, and occupy their dreams at night. They read books, articles, newsletters, and websites which they hope will give them an edge for achieving their vision. They arrange all their activities to devote maximum time and effort toward the realization of that for which they earnestly long, and which fills their minds throughout the day. They talk eagerly about their goals, dreams, and attainments, and they plan and schedule, day by day, to realize as much of their vision and hope as they can.
It is sad to consider how much zeal and energy we as believers put into these fleeting pleasures, when held out to us are fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore in the Presence of our Lord, under His gaze, in the contemplation of His face. Yet our minds are too crowded with mundane delights and distractions, or too filled with doubt concerning the benefit of such meditation, to give ourselves much to the practice of this crucial discipline.
And so we experience very little of the glory of Jesus’ face, and this deprives us of all but the barest flicker of anticipation as we consider meeting Him hereafter. Our minds filled with fleeting pleasures, we forfeit that which can never fade, never fail to satisfy, and never be taken away from us.
The question is not whether we will meditate and allow our minds to focus on some great, hoped-for thing, and dwell there. The question is whether we will meditate on Him Who alone can bring us into fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore.
For reflection
1. How would you explain the discipline of meditation to a new believer? Why is it important?
2. How can you begin to add daily meditation and seeking the face of the Lord to your spiritual disciplines?
Psalm 27.4-6 (Joanna: Immortal, Invisible God Only Wise)
One thing we request but to dwell with You, LORD,
Your beauty to test and to think on Your Word.
In trouble You hide us secure in Your grace;
No foe may o’erride us: We sing of Your praise!
Guarding your soul
For a more complete study of the soul and how we must care for it, download the ReVision series on “The Strong Soul.” This linkwill take you to the entire series, but you can download individual installments in that series if you like.
A month of meditations
Celtic Christians understood the value of meditation. They wrote about their time with Jesus in ways that can encourage us and enrich our time with the Lord. Our book, Be Thou My Vision, drawn from our Crosfigell archives, provides 28 days of meditations on Jesus and can be a valuable resource in helping you learn to practice this discipline. Order your copy by clicking here.
Thank you.
Many of you are faithful and generous in praying for and supporting Crosfigell and The Fellowship of Ailbe. Thank you. May I encourage all our readers to seek the Lord about becoming a supporter of The Fellowship of Ailbe? It’s easy to give to The Fellowship of Ailbe, and all gifts are, of course, tax-deductible. You can click here to donate online through credit card or PayPal or Anedot, or send your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, P. O. Box 8213, Essex, VT 05451.
T. M. Moore
All Psalms for singing from The Ailbe Psalter. Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[1] Eriugena, Periphyseon, p. 31.
