Seeing Jesus

"We can now lay down a great foundational truth: One of the greatest privileges the believer has, both in this world and for eternity, is to behold the glory of Christ." ~John Owen

This statement is received with either inexpressible joy or with dull hearted indifference and your reaction matters.  For everyone professes to know Jesus.  But few treasure Him.  Everyone claims Jesus as savior, but cannot express why beyond a desire to avoid hell.  There are a lot of people in hell who, in this life, did not want to be there.  A mere desire to avoid it is little evidence of a changed heart.  In fact, I would go so far to argue that it is a natural reaction had by almost all men.  But a heart that yearns for Jesus is not a natural thing.  Indeed, a heart that is consumed with Him is one of the most unnatural things in the world.  And it is this heart that is indeed preparing for future glory, for our future glory shall consist of seeing and knowing Him as we are known, not by mere faith but with our eyes.  Perhaps this is why scripture speaks of loving the world as being equivalent to hating God.  For how can we profess to love God when we love that which is so adamantly opposed to Him?  And do not fool yourself, there is so much in this world we consider good that is diametrically opposed to Jesus Christ.  It is as AW Tozer said so many years ago, "the flaming desire to throw off everything and put on the nature of Christ is not often found among us."