What Does God Look Like?

A little child who is taught about God will eventually ask the question, 'What does God look like?'

It is a good question.

"You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain." - Exodus 20:4-7 ESV

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.'
-
Philip said to him, 'Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.'
-
Jesus said to him, 'Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves." - John 14:6-11 ESV

What strikes me this morning is Philip's blind neediness. The only person to satisfy His need was standing right there answering his question but Philip lacked the eyes to see Him that way.

Peter and John saw Jesus more clearly at the mount of transfiguration...

"And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him." - Matthew 17:1-3 ESV

Jesus knew Philip never saw Him glow like that but He was confident that Philip had seen someone he just didn't recognize.

If we see grace and truth we have seen the Father. When we try to define God He ends up looking like an image of something we have seen in the Heavens, on Earth or below the Earth but that representation just doesn't match who He Is.

Let's make sure those children have a true representation of 'the Father.' We need that. Our co-workers need it. The world needs it.

"In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us." - 2 Corinthians 4:4-7 ESV

Yes. It is going to take a miracle for blind eyes to see. Our God is the miraculous God.

--