Face to Face With God
Living in the Gaze That Has Always Held You
The Gaze That Made the World
Before there was light, oceans, galaxies, or breath,
there was a Face-to-Face God.
John’s Gospel whispers it gently:
In the beginning, the Son was with the Father —
but the word for “with” means far more than simple proximity.
It carries the idea of being turned toward,
of deep relational facing,
of love that looks into love
and recognizes itself.
Face to face.
Heart to heart.
Life to life.
This is the atmosphere of eternity.
Before anything existed,
God was already living as a communion of love —
delighting, sharing, giving, receiving.
And here is the miracle: We were made out of that gaze.
Made for Presence, Not Distance
Everything in Scripture points toward a God
who loves to be with us —
not above us, not against us, not far from us.
Moses tasted it:
“The LORD spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks with his friend.”
David longed for it:
“Your face, LORD, I seek.”
Jesus revealed it:
“Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.”
When the Bible speaks of God’s “face,”
it isn’t describing a feature —
it describes presence, attention, and welcome.
To be face-to-face with God
is to stand in the center of divine affection,
seen, known, and embraced.
Sin Turns Our Face Away—But Not His
We often think of sin as breaking rules.
But at its core, sin is turning our face away
from the One who never turns His face from us.
Adam hid.
Israel hid.
We hide.
But when Jesus came,
He did not come to show us a Father who is tired of looking at us.
He came to show us a Father who has never stopped looking with love.
The Cross was not God turning His face away from Jesus —
it was God in Christ turning His face toward a world that had forgotten Him.
Grace is the hand that gently lifts our chin
and says, “Look at Me. You are mine.”
Salvation Is the Restoration of Face-to-Face Life
We typically think of salvation as a status change,
a legal transaction, a ticket for later.
But salvation is far more relational:
It is God restoring the face-to-face fellowship
we were created for.
Paul says,
“Now we see dimly, but then we shall see face to face.” (1 Cor 13:12)
Not because God was ever hiding,
but because our eyes were not yet healed.
The Spirit teaches us to turn again,
to lift our face,
to live in the light of His.
This Is the Life You Already Belong To
You were dreamed of in the face-to-face love of Father, Son, and Spirit.
You were fashioned by it.
You are sustained by it.
You are being restored to it.
And one day, you will awake fully in it.
Your story begins and never ends in the gaze of God.
Reflection
Where am I avoiding the gaze of God instead of resting in it?
What changes when I believe He is already turned toward me with love?
How would my prayers shift if I prayed as one who is already face-to-face?
Prayer
Jesus, turn my face toward the Father as You always are. Heal the places that hide, fear, or turn away. Let me live in Your gaze—seen, known, and loved. Amen.