Since when do we not believe in the invisible? Do you believe in radio waves, TV signals, or WiFi? Do you believe in electricity? Can you see X-rays or magnetism?
God’s invisibility may be the first point raised by unbelievers: “How do I know God is real if I can’t see Him?” Jesus answered that: “The wind blows where it wishes. You hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it is going” John 3:8.
We cannot see wind—but we see its effects. The same is true of God. His work is all around you. Maybe rather than complain we can’t see Him, we should flip the script: what if you COULD see Him?
(Pause and imagine for a minute….)
—Would God be some huge person, His shoulders a mountain on the horizon, watching you every day? Or maybe He would replace the sun, hanging in the sky, shining His glory down on everything He made? Or would He be the greatest King on the greatest throne, with golden streets curving away from its base in all directions, like rivers of crystal bringing the Water of Life to everyone?
Could you handle that? Could you live a good life with the Creator of the Universe visible at every moment? Could you relax and have fun—ever? What if God was so big, awesome, holy, and powerful, that seeing Him would stop you DEAD in your tracks—literally? Because you know what? God is that big. He said “No man can see My face and live!”
Instead of complaining that He hides Himself, we should thank Him! The people of Israel saw a tiny display of God’s glory and were terrified: “When all the people witnessed the thunder and lightning … and the mountain enveloped in smoke, they trembled and stood at a distance. ‘Speak to us yourself and we will listen,’ they said to Moses. ‘But do not let God speak to us, or we will die’” Exodus 20:19.
Soon Moses spent so much time talking to God that each time he came to the people he had to cover his face because God’s glory—the tiny residue of it that glowed on the face of Moses—was too much for them. They were terrified. “So when Aaron and all the sons of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone, and they were afraid to approach him” Exodus 34: 30.
Skeptics complain about God being invisible, as though invisibility were a weakness. But God is not invisible because He is weak, or because He lacks the power to overwhelm us by ‘showing up.’ God is invisible because He is MERCIFUL. God is invisible because HE LOVES US. Because He does not want to terrify us, or smoke us to dust simply by showing up. Because THAT is what would happen.
You are not ready to see the face of God. The Almighty Creator of Man’s first breath? Are you kidding me? A Being so powerful, He holds the universe in His hand like a grain of sand, a Person so strong the earth is nothing to Him?
The very sight of Him would be the end of you. We are mortals. Fragile as dried rose petals. If we get anywhere near the Consuming Fire of the Immortal God, we will burst into flame. Our lives short and frail—nothing but the Mercy of God keeps us from death. Look at the death around you—accidents, car wrecks, illnesses—your life is as frail as a spider web in a gentle rain. We have no capacity for immortality—the mere sight of it would kill us. Be patient. Immortality—even the sight of immortality—is for another time.
Even Moses, who bore the glory of God on his own face, could not see God’s face. He asked and God told him, “No man can see My face and live… But there is a place where you may stand on a rock. When My glory passes by, I will hide you in the cleft of the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed. Then I will take My hand away and you will see My back as I pass by, but My face must not be seen” Exodus 33:19-20.
He is protecting us every day, covering us with His hand as He covered Moses, hiding Himself from tiny creatures so fragile the mere sight of Him would burn them to ashes. And we have all eternity to see Him! There we WILL see the greatest King on the greatest throne, with golden streets curving away from the base of His throne in all directions, like rivers of crystal bringing the Water of Life to everyone. “And the city will not need the sun or the moon, for the glory of God will illuminate it, and its lamp is the Lamb” Revelation 21:23.
God, thank You for Your Merciful Invisibility. Remind us how frail we are and how deeply we depend on Your Mercy to sustain us every moment!
ΑΩ
Household Words: 