Read the Psalm

With the God of heaven as the vision through which we view ourselves and others, that vision deepens as we learn to gaze upon Him. As He increasingly becomes the focus of our gaze, we experience transformation. Professor and theologian James Houston observed that maturity in the spiritual life could be described as “unintentional self-forgetfulness.” Stop and ponder that for a moment. Isn’t that what our hearts long for? To be so captivated by the glory and goodness of God that we cease thinking of ourselves. 

There is an appropriate and healthy sense in which we engage in self-reflection. Consider the encouragement to ask God to search our hearts (Psalm 139) and the admonition to examine oneself (2 Corinthians 13:5). However, the essence of life is love and the heart of love is to let go of a self-referential existence and self-focus. This occurs as we learn to gaze upon God.

The prayer in Psalm 123 begins with a declaration: “To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens!” The possibility as well as the joy and pleasure of seeing God’s face is a consistent theme in the Psalms. In Psalm 27:4, we read: “One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after: 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 inquire in his temple.” The word “inquire” could also be translated as “meditate.” And His beauty? What makes Him beautiful? His love.

1 John 3:2-3 describes: “Beloved, we are God’s children now and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes purifies himself as he is pure.” This seeing is focused on His love as the previous verse in 1 John suggest: “Behold the nature of the love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God.” You are His child. The way that a parent looks at their child in their arms merely scratches the surface of comprehending His love.

Seeing or gazing upon God’s love for us is our transformation into self-forgetfulness. Theologian Jonathan Edwards wrote: “The pleasure of seeing God is so great and so strong that it takes the full possession on the heart; it fills it brimful, so that there shall be no room for any sorrow, no room in any corner for anything of an adverse nature from joy. There is no darkness that can bear such powerful light.”

There is a full, unhindered sense in which we will experience this “seeing” in the eternal realm, and there is also a sense in which we see God now as we learn to gaze upon Him. In Numbers 6, the blessing of Aaron speaks of the effect of seeing God’s face. “The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up His countenance and give you peace.” This gazing upon God’s face (seeing) is described in Ephesians 1:18 as knowing or perception: “having the eyes of your hearts enlightened that you may know.” This is a work of the Spirit who give us the perceptual ability to know God’s love which is the focus of our gazing. (Romans 5:5)

Author Martin Laird suggests that “Our self-forgetful gaze on God is immersed in God’s self-emptying gaze on us, and in this mutual meeting we find rest.” The invitation is to look at God loving us, and as we orient our lives around this love, we begin to see His presence as our home, in both this life and the world to come. 

So, how do we embrace a life of gazing at the face of God? If we enlist the help of Psalm 27, we might say the following:

1. Make gazing at His face the focus of your life (“one thing I will seek”)
2. Slow down and stay in His presence (“that I may dwell”)
3. Simply gaze at His beauty (which is His love)

There are no short cuts or quick fixes … only slow, determined dwelling in His presence to look at Him day after day. As we have been reflecting in examen, we sit with the question: how is God loving me? We wait for the answer as we gaze upon Him.

God graciously gave us the capacity for imagination so that we can “see” with the eyes of our hearts, so that we can experience the love of God as we simply close our eyes and look to the “One enthroned in the heavens.” Its why we sing songs with words like: “Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.”

Reflection questions: Are you slowing down enough in order to see God’s face? What is God inviting as you consider this prayer in Psalm 123? 

Prayer: Lord, may I see Your face and therefore know You love. May this seeing lead to a place of self-forgetfulness as I abandon myself to Your love. Thank You for loving me. Amen.