To see God’s face is to know Him, as far as we are able, and to be assured of God’s character. Why do I say that? Perhaps there is much more to seeing God’s face, but that is what I’m understanding at this point. God’s character stands for Who He is, just as ours stands for who we are.

When we think of someone, we think of their outward appearance but we also consider their character, perhaps without even realizing it. We unconsciously think of that person as being honest or a cheat; we trust them or we don’t. In the same way, when we are assured about certain facets of God’s character, we begin to know Him in ways we couldn’t before. Knowing Him, we can learn to count on Him, to trust Him with our lives and our circumstances.

For instance, when we’re going through hard times, we can still rely on God’s character. “God is love” (see 1 John 4:8 and 16). We realize that even in our difficult situation God will bless us and somehow bring good out of it. (Romans 8:28 Amplified Bible: We are assured and know that [God being a partner in {our} labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose.)

The Bible equates love with God because in this case the verb is basically means equal when we say someone is something, using another noun. We could say love is God because there would be no love without God’s love being first. God has many other characteristics, just like you and I do, but love is the first in relation to humans. That’s the only reason He created us. He loved us and wanted a relationship with us.

When we learn about and know deep within ourselves the characteristics of God, we can begin to rely on them. When we call on our Father to help us in time of need, depending on Him for grace to face whatever our situation, then we begin to see our Father’s face. We find God in a more intimate way and commune with Him in that place.

As we look forward to a new year, let’s plan on getting to know our heavenly Father of Love better. We do that only by spending more time with Him, just as we get better acquainted with a friend. God desires for each of us to know Him in a more intimate way, but He will not force us. This decision is only ours.