What Does God Look Like?

Read: Mark 10

One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children.” (Mark 10:13-14)

What does God look like? No human being has ever seen him and lived to tell about it. So we are left to wonder.

I love the story of the little girl who was drawing a picture when her mother asked, “Honey, what are you drawing?” Quite confidently, the little girl said, “I’m drawing a picture of God!” The mother reminded her that no one really knows what God looks like. To which the little girl said, “they will when I get done.”

In Jesus’ day, the people of Israel had never seen God. They only knew of him from their wooden rituals, vacuous traditions and misguided theologies. They had no visible clue as to what God was like, but Jesus came along and said, “they will when I get done.”

So what does God looks like? Just look at Jesus. The Apostle Paul tells us in Colossians 1:15, “Jesus is the image of the invisible God.” Verse 19 says, “For in Jesus all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.”

In other words, when you see Jesus, you’re seeing God himself. Jesus is the perfect picture of God; the absolutely accurate image of the Father. Jesus is the invisible God made visible.

So what does watching Jesus tell us about God here in Mark 10? Well, how does God feel about your marriage? Just look at Jesus telling the Pharisees, “What God has joined together let not man separate.” (Verse 9)

How does God feel about your children? Just look at Jesus gathering up a bunch of kids in his arms and saying, Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. (Verse 14)

How does God feel about your struggle to let go of earthly dependencies? Just look at Jesus’ interaction with the rich young ruler: “Jesus looked at him and loved him.” (Verse 21)

How does God feel about your competitiveness with others? Just look at Jesus saying to his disciples, “Whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.” (Verse 44)

How does God feel about the things you care about? Just look at Jesus asking blind Bartimaeus, “What do you want me to do for you?” (Verse 51)

What is God like? What does he look like? How does he feel about you? Just take a look at Jesus—it will really encourage you. Take a moment just to drink in what Hebrews 4:15 (The Message) has to say about it:

In Jesus, we don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help.

In Jesus, God has identified with us so we can identify with him. In Jesus, God has come near to us so we can come near to God. In Jesus, God has made a way for us to live before him with complete confidence and daring prayerfulness—we can “come boldly to the throne of our gracious God, and there we will receive his mercy and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.”

Wow!  In Jesus, we get a live demonstration of what God is like.  And that’s a good deal for us way beyond description!

“Who would have had sufficient daring of imagination to conceive that God Almighty would have appeared among men as a little child?  We should have conceived something sensational, phenomenal, catastrophic, appalling!  The most awful of the natural elements would have formed His retinue, and men would be chilled and frozen with fear.  But, He came as a little child. The great God ’emptied Himself’; He let in the light as our eyes were able to bear it.”  ~John Henry Jowett

What If God Took Over?

Try offering this prayer:  “Father, thank you for making yourself known to me in Jesus.  And thank you for making a way through Jesus for me to come into your presence to receive the mercy and find the grace that I need to make it through this day in victorious fashion.”

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One thought on “What Does God Look Like?

  1. What a great post! The "What is God like?" question reminds me Pritchard's book Anchor for the Soul. It also answers that question by looking to Jesus. The book was recently update and rereleased – highly recommended (especially for seekers, doubter and skeptics – and those who minster to them!).