Seeing Jesus

Job 42:1-6
Then Job answered the Lord and said, “I know that You can do all things, and that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted. ‘Who is this that hides counsel without knowledge?’ “Therefore I have declared that which I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” ‘Hear, now, and I will speak; I will ask You, and You instruct me.’ “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but now my eye sees You; Therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes.” (NASB95)

Thoughts:
There is a difference between knowing about someone, and knowing them by experience. Job had heard about God, His mercy, His expectations, His righteousness. But he did not know God, Face to face.
I can chose to hold God at arm’s length, decline to meet with Him, ignore Him. He allows this. But in the end I only know about God, or rather, I think that I know about Him. But even that knowledge is merely what I chose to know about Him, rather than know Him as He is.

When I only know about God, I can chose to know about some facet of Him: His grace or His love, for example. And I can chose to not know about His holiness, His wrath, or His righteousness. I can approach Him as Savior while walking away from Him as Lord and Master. And in the end, I will neither know about Him nor will know Him by experience.

Job had walked to the best of his ability in obedience to the God that he know about. And God had been profoundly good and loving to Job. But Job still did not know God until God had revealed Himself to Job.