Our home is newer and thus well-sealed. We can open windows yet experts say that will not fix a buildup of this gas. Therefore we had our home tested and a radon mitigation system installed to deal with a moderately high level. Even though we cannot see this gas, we trust the equipment used to take it outside even though we cannot see it leaving!
When it comes to faith, I’ve heard people say that they will only ‘believe it if they can see it.’ However we cannot see germs or bacteria, at least with the naked eye. We cannot see wind or electricity, love or freedom and many other ordinary things yet putting our trust in them isn’t about their visibility. It has more to do with their actions.
The Bible declares that God is INVISIBLE. That does not mean we cannot know He exists. Romans 1:18–20 says:
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”
Like the wind moves things about and like electricity empowers lifeless appliances and gives movement and abilities to many other ‘dead’ objects, God is perceived in all that He has created.
Yet there is an even better way to ‘see’ this invisible God:
Colossians 1:15–17. “He (Jesus Christ) is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”
1 Timothy 1:15–17. “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life. To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”
In Christ, the invisible God became flesh and lived among us. Those who have seen Jesus have seen God. Even those of us who did not actually see Him in a physical body are able to ‘see’ Him by faith and live for Him like Moses lived for Him:
Hebrews 11:24–28. “By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.”
Those who want to see to believe put ‘seeing’ first then faith, but in the plan of God, faith comes first and seeing follows it, something like a simple knock at the door tells me someone is there. To see that someone, all I need to do is open the door.
Both Job and Jesus make remarkable statements about seeing God:
Job 19:25–27. “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another . . . .”
Matthew 5:8. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. How is gazing possible when it comes to the Invisible God? I can read a novel and ‘see’ the characters. Reading the Word of God is even more effective for in reading it, I can ‘see’ the One who inspired it. The more I read and the more He purifies my life, the more real He becomes to me.
No comments:
Post a Comment