I Can See Clearly Now

Today, I'd like to read to you from 1 John 3, verse 2 and talk to you about seeing clearly. Here we go. 1 John 3, verse 2, where we read this, Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be. But we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. In this verse, the Bible gives an amazing promise. One day, not only shall we be like Jesus, but one day, we shall see Him as He is. This might be the greatest glory of heaven. Not to be personally glorified, but to be in the unhindered and unrestricted presence of our Lord. The Apostle Paul said of our present life, Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just also as I am known. That's in 1 Corinthians, chapter 13, verse 12. You know, today, when we look into a good mirror, the image is clear. But in the ancient world, mirrors were made out of polished metal, and the image was always unclear and somewhat distorted. We see Jesus now only in a dim, obscure way. But one day, we are going to see Jesus with perfect clarity. Heaven is very precious to us for many reasons. We long to be with our loved ones who have passed before us and whom we miss dearly. We long to be with the great men and women of God who have passed before us in centuries past. We want to walk the streets of gold, see the pearly gates, and see the angels around the throne of God worshipping Him day and night. However, none of those things, as precious as they are, make heaven truly heaven. What makes heaven truly heaven is the completely unhindered and unrestricted presence of our Lord. To see Him as He is will be the most wonderfully significant experience of your eternal existence. In heaven, Jesus will still bear all the scars of His earthly suffering. You see, after Jesus rose from the dead in His glorified body, His body uniquely retained the nail prints in His hands and the scar on His side. You'll find that in John chapter 20. In Zechariah chapter 12 verse 10, Jesus speaks prophetically of the day when the Jewish people will turn to Him and see Him in glory. It says, Then they will look on Me whom they have pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only Son and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn. Zechariah chapter 13 verse 6 continues the thought by saying, And one will say to him, What are these wounds between your arms? And he will answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends. In writing in John 3.2, John connects seeing Him as He is with the idea of our becoming like Jesus. Could it not be said that the same principle works right now? This is what I mean. To the degree that you see Jesus as He is now, to that same degree you are like Him in your life. Today, here's a challenge question. How clearly do you see Jesus? It's going to be evident in who you are and in what you are becoming.