Who is our God? How do we envision him? Is he a grandfather, with a halo of white hair, kindly bestowing loving kindness on his progeny?
On the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo depicts God as a sturdy, muscular man of advancing years, with a gray beard and white hair, telling of his wisdom and great age.
John 4:24 tells us God is of a spirit nature. He has no physical form.
1 John 4:16 says he is love, which includes grace, kindness, and mercy.
1 John 1:5 describes God as a being of light, with no darkness in him.
Exodus 3:2 paints his countenance as a flaming bush in the wilderness.
Genesis 15:17 offers us a vision of God as a flaming torch and a smoking firepot.
Hebrews 12:29 envisions God as a consuming fire, holy and righteous in his nature.
1 Kings 18:38 portrays God as an all-consuming flame, devouring flesh, wood, stones, and dust; and reaching out to lick up the water in the ditch.
When we see God in our minds, do we envision a hefty bank account, a strict school marm, a distant unknowable distraction, or perhaps, in our moments of crisis, a First Responder, there to rescue us from the snares of the world?
God is not as we desire him to be, but as he is. In Isaiah 1:2-3, the Lord despairs over his creation.
“Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me. …My people do not understand.”
Do we understand the true nature of God? Is he our avenue to financial success and better living; our rescue team when we can’t make it on our own; or is he the consuming fire that will one day wipe all sin and degradation from the face of the earth? Perhaps Michelangelo got it right. Our God is the sturdy one, with great strength in his limbs, and in him is the greatest wisdom of all the ages.
Let’s envision that God. He’s the one the Bible describes, from cover to cover.
When we truly see God, we begin to understand how holy he is in every conceivable way.
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