Have you ever wanted to see God?

 Have you ever wanted to see God?  Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God" (Matthew 5:8 NIV84)  I think in this life, seeing God is like seeing the wind.  You can't see the wind directly, but you can see what it does.  God is constantly revealing Himself through His work.  Sometimes, God is best seen against the contrast of His enemy's work.  Satan's acts, like the Boston bombing, are obvious.  But God was evident in the immediate actions of the people who helped the wounded - and the helper and helped now share a special bond.  9/11 was tragic, but there are countless stories of heroism and kindness from strangers to strangers - that are not strangers any longer.

God does not create evil.  Evil is the absence of God.  Because all people sin, to get rid of all evil God would have to get rid of all people.  Though we each sin, God loves us too much to destroy us.  So God turns satan's terror into hearts touching hearts, each helping the other through the pain sin causes.

But pain is not the only backdrop where God can be seen.  Each person, from conception to birth to old age, is made in the image of God.  And the beauty and capacity to love of each person, displays the beauty and capacity to love of their Creator.

God's beauty and capacity to love ultimately expressed itself to us in dying to take away my sins and yours and then rising from the dead to give us the free gift of His Life and Spirit.  And when we receive His forgiveness and make Him Lord of our life he promises to come back for us. And we will see Him face to face. And we will be like Him because we will see Him as He is.