the future and God's face

"I was created to see you 

and I have not yet accomplished that for which I was made." 

-Anselm

We must admit: we can believe all the right doctrines and even have real experience of the real God in the here-and-now, but there is more, so much more to be discovered. We were created to commune with our Maker face-to-face and, though we confirm his presence in our hearts presently, we must also remember that we have yet to actually see him face-to-face. Let us not forget: this is what we were created for.

The God of the Bible is a God of Hope. Hope is seated in the future, always the future. We do not have to choose between the two names of the God of Hope. They are: “I Am Who I Am” and “I Will Be Who I Will Be”. His name is so great, it can mean both things at the same time. God can be experienced in the here-and-now, but we will never experience all of him in our present human condition. There is always more of him to find. The riches of his grace and majesty are inexhaustible. He is eternal. This means he is found in the present and the future. He will never be merely your personal Object to possess or control. He eludes us, playing hide-and-seek.

He is the God who is forever saying to us, “Just wait; you’ll see. Just trust; you don’t need to know yet where I’m leading you. All you need to know is that I am with you now and I will always be with you. When you finally arrive, you will see what you were created to see. But not yet, my child, not yet. There is more to come, so much more.” He says this, smiling. You can’t see it yet, but you know it by the way his voice sounds—it sounds like faith, hope and love.