I Want to See Jesus - The Christian Online Magazine

The Christian Online Magazine -

Do you ever find yourself as a Christian having such a longing in your heart to see Jesus that it hurts? I can sometimes think of how it will one day be and the yearning is so intense I can hardly wait. Oh! I want to see Jesus, the one who died for me. I want to see that one who carried that old rugged cross and then hung on it and died that I could go free.

Maybe like me, you can identify with the request that some Gentiles made to Phillip. A day or two after the triumphal entry and the cleansing of the temple, as Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, these God-fearing foreigners came up to the disciple of Jesus and made the request recorded for us in John 12:21, “Sir, we want to see Jesus”.

What more could we desire in the world than to see Jesus? “Sir, we want to see Jesus”. In reading these scriptures one would have to ask the question or say to one’s self “I want to see Jesus too”. Now, I want to raise this question for your consideration if you have asked yourself that same question.

Why do you want to see Jesus?

I want to share my thoughts with you. I first want to see Him so that I can thank and praise him. I want to fall down upon my knees and worship him. I want to thank him for saving a wretch like me, for paying a debt he did not owe and the debt I could never pay. I want to thank him for loving me so much that while I was still a sinner, he died for me. Gal. 2: 20 “He loved me and gave himself for me”, the apostle Paul says, and I want to thank him and praise him. I want to thank him for his perfect example of humility, unselfishness, compassion and obedience.

I want to be like the one leper who returned and gave thanks to God. I want to be like the sinful woman who loved and appreciated Jesus so much all she could do was weep and kiss his feet.

I want to see Jesus so I can say thank you, although you were tempted in all points like me, yet you were without sin. Thank you for identifying and sympathizing with me. Thank you for the hours you have spent at the right hand of the Father interceding on my behalf. Thank you blessed Savior for never giving up on me. Thank you for being the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. Oh! Don’t you want to see him so you can thank him and praise him in his presence?

I want to see Jesus so I can be surrounded by his glory. I can hardly wait to meet him face to face. “Face to face, I shall behold him far beyond the starry skies”. “Face to Face in his glory I shall see him by and by”.

One day we will understand and can say with the Apostle John what it means “And the word became flesh and dwelled among us and we beheld his glory”. When Jesus spoke about returning to this world a second time as Lord and Judge, he said it this way, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory ... Matthew 25:31. I want to see Jesus in all his glory. Paul tells us to dwell on that day by writing these words, Colossians 3:4 “When Christ who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory”. Do you understand that? We shall also appear with him in glory. I can only imagine what it will be like when I walk by his side. I can only imagine what these eyes will see when his face is before me. Will I stand in his presence or will I fall to my knees? Will I be able to speak at all? I can only imagine.

I want to be able to look upon his face. Many times I have said “Oh Lord you’re beautiful, your face is all I seek ....”There is none like O Lord unto thee”. Oh Lord! I want to see you. I have said, “I want to be where you are, dwelling in your presence; feasting at your table, surrounded by your glory. In your presence...that’s where I always want to be.

Jesus Christ is the most intriguing person and the all-consuming thought in my mind. He is my reason for living. I can’t wait for the day I get to meet him. I want to be like Stephen and be able to say; “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God”. I want to be able to say like Mary Magdalene “I have seen the Lord”.

Oh! The peace and joy that will flood our hearts when one day we will see Jesus face to face. We will see with our own eyes the smile upon his face.

1 John 3:2 Dear friends, now are we the Sons of God and it doth not yet appear what we shall be; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

You can’t see God or the manifestation of his glory and not be changed. Moses saw the glory of the Lord and his face radiated. He had to wear a veil. “My eyes have seen your glory, my life forever changed”.

I Cor 15:51 Behold I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed.

Verse 52 In a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall all be changed. When we all see Jesus we shall be changed to a new glorified, resurrection body like that of our Lord.

I don’t know how you feel, but I am ready to experience that change. I long for the day when I shall be like my Lord. When we all see Jesus we shall sing the victory because we shall be like him. Sin, sickness and pain will be gone forever. I long for that day.

So, I ask you the question, do you want to see Jesus? If you answered affirmatively, then there is another verse of scripture that is important for you to understand. Heb 12:14 “follow peace with all men and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord”.

If we want to see the Lord, we are going to have to live a holy life and to do that we must have a relationship with God thought Jesus Christ where the righteousness of Christ can be credited to our account, where his blood can keep on forgiving our sins. The only way any of us can have holiness is through the cleansing power of Christ’s blood and the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit within us.

So, I say to you Yes! I want to see Jesus. I want to have the opportunity to thank him and praise him. I want to be surrounded by his glory; I want to be able to look upon his face and I want to experience the change when I become like him. Have you taken the necessary steps to be able to see Jesus? Have you confessed your faith in him? Have you called upon the name of the Lord for salvation? Today is the day of salvation. Don’t wait too late!