In Revelation 1:16, John describes the Lord: 

         “His face was like the sun shining in its strength.”

          The sun’s energy sustains natural life and makes it possible. The face of God also sustains all natural and spiritual life and makes it possible. As the Apostle Paul said to the philosophers of Athens, “In Him we live, and move and have our being” (see Acts 17:28 NKJV).

          We can recognize people in two basic ways—either by their face or by their voice. Unless someone has a unique factor about their hand, such as a finger missing, how many people could you recognize by just seeing their hand? We probably could not even recognize some of the closest people to us this way. Yet how many only know God because of His hand, what He gives to them? I Chronicles 16:11 and Psalm 105:4 commands us to “Seek the Lord and His strength; seek His face continually.”

          The hand of the Lord represents His power and provision. These are wonderful and to be sought, but we are called to seek His face as the main thing. If we just know Him by His hand, then we will think that any hand that gives to us is Him. We must seek His face. It shines like the sun because all life emanates from it.

         How do we seek His face? We seek to know Him and His ways, not just His acts. As Psalm 103:7 tells us, “He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel.” It is wonderful to see the acts of the Lord and remembering them is important—Israel was commanded to recount His deeds to the emerging generation each year. However, there is a difference in seeing His acts and seeing Him.

         Moses sought the Lord’s face. Even with all the great works that he witnessed, he still asked to know the Lord and see His glory. Moses met with the Lord face to face as a man meets with his friend (see Exodus 33:11). I think this is why Moses had so much life in him. Even at one hundred and twenty years old his strength did not abate or his eyes dim. Moses had been with Him so much that he possibly could not have died of natural degeneration—the Lord had to put him to death. We are told that His Spirit will “quicken our mortal bodies” (see Romans 8:11). The time spent in the Spirit rejuvenates us, but the blessing of knowing Him is greater than physical rejuvenation. As Jesus said, eternal life is to know God (see John 17:3).

         The Lord is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. More than a formula for salvation, the Way is a Person. More than just understanding doctrine accurately, Truth is a Person we must know. If that Person is not our Life, then we do not really know the Way or the Truth. We must not be content to just know about Him—we must know Him face to face. This is the most important purpose in our life. The quality and enduring nature of everything else will be determined by our personal, face-to-face relationship with the Lord.