Oh Lord, You’re Beautiful... Your face is all I see...
For when Your eyes are on this child,
Your grace abounds to me.
Oh Lord, Please light the fire... that once burned bright and clear...
Refill the lamp of my First Love, that burned with holy fear.

I was thinking this morning... about how we should begin in our devotional time. I remembered hearing somewhere that you should begin with Praise – praising God for Who He is, not for anything He’s done for you, but just simply because of Who He is. I felt like I needed something to base my praise on... and I found myself comparing the way I feel when I look at a picture of _________ to when I want to praise God. (Probably a sad comparison I know) But, when I look at ________, something just wells up inside and I find myself saying to no one at all, really..stuff like: “you are so BEAUTIFUL! ...you’re gorgeous! ...you’re smile lights up the room!” etc., etc. And then I thought, there’s more to it than that.. I don’t love this person simply because of their looks – he’s nice looking, but there’s more to it than that, what is it that makes me so crazy about him? It’s his philosophy, his worldview, the way he has brought up his children, teaching them, as the word directs us as parents to do-in "the way they should go", the way he puts God in the picture, his whole-hearted, all-or-nothing attitude about getting what he believes “out there”, and throwing his life into doing just that. And recently, I’ve had glimpses into some of the very hard things he and his family have gone through in life... a daughter with a debilitating disease, he himself being raised in poverty, having fallen victim to some addictive behaviors in his own life, and overcoming those, (as I said, just a glimpse really) but what I have learned about the man has only deepened my respect and admiration for him.

Now, as I was thinking to myself this morning “Just exactly how do we praise God for ‘Who He is’?” Well, it came to me – I admire and respect this human being based on certain things: his attributes; character, philosophy of life, beliefs and world views that agree with mine, and his unrelenting, unapologetic way of getting his message “out there.” There is a light that shines from his countanance when he smiles...ok, maybe I'm getting a little carried away here, ...But to sum up, something in me responds to this person based on his physical appeal, his character, his attributes, his actions, and his reputation.

And I thought, Why can't I be as enraptured by my God?!” He is all that and infinitely more! So, then I wondered, ok...how do I come to the place that when I think of God, something in me wells up with the same emotion I feel when I think of this simple mortal being? The answer is simple really – I have got to get to know Him better. And how do I do that? By finding out what His word, which He has given to us, tells us about Him. Ok, I can’t begin to fathom what He looks like physically, and that is just our human nature trying to pull God down to some level we as finite beings can understand anyway, but let’s go with it for a minute; I haven’t seen Him, but His word describes Him, and for those few who have seen Him, His beauty knocks ‘em dead!

John said, "And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the First and the Last" –Revelation 1:17
So, He’s gorgeous beyond all comprehension, and one day I will bask in His smiles 24/7 and be fully satisfied to just gaze upon His beauty for all eternity.

One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek:

that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,

to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple. –Psalm 27:4

The New Living Translation puts the second part of that verse in this way: “delighting in the Lord’s perfections, and meditating in His temple.”

Whew! Well, I know I can do that. I gaze at a photo of this guy I admire and I delight in his perfections (ha ha!) The thought of just being in his audience thrills me. I can’t imagine uttering a word though, it would be enough just to sit there quietly and take in his wisdom. And if that is how I feel about a fallible, earthly being, how tremendously much greater will it be to be in My Father’s holy presence? As the song says, I can only imagine....

Well, to be honest, No. I can’t. All I can do is try... and then revel in the knowledge that the reality will be so far above anything I could ever dream or imagine! Praise Jehovah!

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. -1 Corinthians 2:9

I'll close with a prayer that a dear friend of ours, who is now enjoying that blessed reality of being with the Lord, used to pray all the time....

"Heavenly Father, help us to know You better so that we can love You more." Amen.