J Philip Bible Readings

22 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. ³ No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him. ⁴ They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. ⁵ And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign for ever and ever.

In His own wise purposes God keeps us waiting for the final act, the final consummation. For walking by faith is an indispensable discipline in the whole process, a necessary ingredient in the composition of the new order. Thus, in the New Testament, it is significant that we do not ever have a description of what Jesus was like to look at - His face is not described to us. Faith perceives that He is fairer than the sons of men, that He is chiefest of ten thousand, and altogether lovely. But this is viewed by the inward eye. We do not as yet see Him, but only hear His voice. The paradox and mystery of this experience is expressed perfectly in 1 Peter 1:8, 'Whom having not seen, ye love; in Whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory'. This is the point to which God, in the grace of the gospel, brings us. It is almost like being led by a loving hand blindfold to the gates of the city; for it is there, so to speak, that finally we are given eyes with which to see Him. And as we stand there, we shall hear the Voice that we have learned to recognise on our pilgrim journey, but now no longer soft and gentle, but glorious as the sound of many waters, saying, 'Come, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord'. And then something will happen. A Hand will touch our sin-scarred faces, and we shall receive our sight back at last and - we shall see His face. And we shall say, 'Lo! this is our God....' That will be the signal for the divine rejoicing and merriment to begin, for God will then say, 'This My Son was dead, and is alive again; He was lost, and is found'. That will be glory indeed!