No description of God would do Him justice.  How could we ever paint a picture of One who is so much greater than we can even imagine? (Ephesians 3:20)  The truth is, it is impossible to comprehend the totality of God’s divine nature.  This makes the realization that we will someday be in His presence even more amazing.

Revelation 22:3–4 (ESV)
³ No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.  ⁴  They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

Can you imagine actually seeing God face to face?  Many of us will.  Why won’t all of us see God’s face?  It is because not all of us are willing to do what God requires to be in His presence. To be in the presence of God later, we must maintain fellowship with Him now.   How do we do that?  We do it by continuing to walk in the light.

1 John 1:7 (ESV)
⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

The necessity of this is based on the purity of God.  John previously said that God is light and that there is no darkness in Him at all (1 John 1:5).  Walking in the light does not mean that one must live without ever sinning.  John also reminds us that if we say we have not sinned, we deceive ourselves and make God a liar, since His Word says that we have all sinned (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10).  It does mean, however, that we live according to the gospel of Christ, and when we sin, we quickly repent and ask God for forgiveness (Acts 8:22; 1 John 2:1).

Jesus also teaches about this requirement of seeing God.

Matthew 5:8 (ESV)
⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

A pure heart (mind) leads to purity of life.  To live a pure life is to have a life that depicts moral cleanliness.  We may sin from time to time, but we do not make a practice of sinning.

1 John 3:8–9 (ESV)
⁸ Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.  ⁹ No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.

So, if you practice sinning, you can have no fellowship with God now and will never have the opportunity to be in His presence in heaven.  On the other hand, if you are pure in heart, Jesus said, you will see God.

While heaven offers plenty of reasons as to why we should want to go to heaven, nothing should motivate us more than finding ourselves in the presence of God.  Think of how excited people get just to see a professional athlete or famous actor in person.  Then imagine being in the presence of your Creator, the one who is eternal and has all power and knows all things.  As I said earlier, it really is not even imaginable.  Let us prepare ourselves to see God face to face in heaven by living according to His Word now. 

As you wind down for the night, think about these things