This essay continues a sequence. Read the previous one here.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
— KJV, Matt 5:8
Does seeing tell us about the world or about ourselves?
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What Is “Seeing”?
Many spiritual writings allude to the fact that man cannot literally see the Almighty, e.g.:
No man hath seen God at any time;
— John 1:17
We cannot even bear to see all physical things with our physical eyes: for example we cannot stare at the sun indefinitely without sustaining injury.
Our physical world is a rough reflection of the spiritual world (ref. “Creating Is Perpetual“). So there are spiritual and Divine things that even our spirits would find unbearable. It should be obvious that the Almighty would be included in such. Direct “seeing” is out of the question.
The Word is using the word “see” in the less physical sense of “experience”, “perceive”, etc.
The Word is one with the Son; It is His flesh and blood (ref. “What The Word Is: Basic Definitions“):
I am the living bread which came down from heaven:
if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever:
and the bread that I will give is my flesh,
which I will give for the life of the world.
— John 6:51
A fundamental theme of this series of essays is that this fact is too often overlooked. There has been a focus on His physical body at the expense of His Eternal Word, Truth, which is the real Him:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
— John 1:1
The Word As Revelation
If The Word is in the Son, and the Son is in God, then God has revealed Himself in The Word (ref. “What Is Truth?“):
No man hath seen God at any time;
the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
— John 1: 17-18
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Creation Is Also Revelation
He has also revealed Himself through His Creation, which expresses His Nature (ref. “The Nature of God’s Laws“):
He that hath my commandments,
and keepeth them,
he it is that loveth me:
and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father,
and I will love him,
and will manifest myself to him.
— KJV, John 14:21
The Word contains spiritual life and can therefore only be understood through living It (ref. “Truth vs Human Words“).
In the spiritual knowledge gained through experience we gain tangible appreciation of His Nature as expressed in His Laws (ref. “Act To Experience To Know“).
This means “seeing” His wonderful attributes: His Love, Justice, Wisdom, Mercy, etc.
What Blinds Us To The Revelation?
The stumbling block is our ego. Our inflated sense of self. The ego obstructs spiritual vision.
Our plans, desires, and wants typically emerge from the self/ego and not from The Word. We come up with plans and only afterwards seek the Almighty’s Blessing. In other words, we expect the Almighty to serve our ego, instead of us serving Him. This is not pure in heart.
What we can see and how we see things is limited by our desires; limited by our ego.
It is a human characteristic to be partially or completely blind to things that do not accord with our desires or existing views. This is true spiritually and therefore also physically, and has been demonstrated in the field of psychology (e.g. confirmation bias, interpretative denial, etc.).
Ego obstructs the spiritual ability to “see” God.
A purer concept involves selfless service to God in all things i.e. deriving plans from The Word, not from ourselves. Our lifestyle would be different from existing norms. We would then understand The Word Itself much better (ref. “We Don’t Understand The Word“).
To have overcome the ego is to have achieved purity of heart, and therefore to have regained spiritual sight.
We are then able to experience The Word in an undimmed fashion. We are able to consciously experience God’s Power, and His constant and eternal activity in our lives (ref. “The Nature of God’s Laws“).
This is to see God.
Today’s Resolution:
- We pray to be given the strength to wholeheartedly dedicate ourselves to selfless service to God Almighty, and thus to regain our spiritual sight.
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