One of the most challenging things for humans to do is to try to get a glimpse of God. Even though we are the highest of God’s creation and are the only thing He made in His image (Genesis 1:26), we still have severe limitations in understanding God. We’re just not capable of it. God put it this way: “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). How much higher are the heavens than the earth? No one knows, for the ends of the heavens have yet to be discovered. But we do get the point. There is just no comparison of humans with God.
Even so, there are many ways God has allowed us to get a tiny glimpse of His nature and character. “The heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1). Creation tells of His eternal power and divine nature (Romans 1:20). He has revealed certain things through his prophets and spokesmen (Deuteronomy 29:29). Our clearest vision of God is found in Jesus: “If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well” (John 14:7).
The trouble is that even people who lived at the same time as Jesus and saw and heard Him every day still didn’t seem to connect the dots any better that we do. It’s just tough for humans to see God. And a big part of that is because we allow our human limitations to constrict our thinking. It’s much easier to create God in our image than it is to allow Him to transform us into His.
Let me illustrate what I am saying by using the miracles Jesus did. Most people then and now saw the miracles as an end in themselves. There were people who were blind, so Jesus gave them sight. There were people who were deaf or lame or sick, so Jesus healed them. He fed thousands of people with one boy’s lunch. He walked on water and calmed storms. So people began to follow Him wherever He went so that they could be healed or get something to eat (Mark 3:7-10; John 6:26).
But for most of them, that’s about as far as their feeble minds would allow them to go. They didn’t connect the power of healing the physical afflictions with the power of doing far greater things. They were satisfied with sight, hearing and food. But Jesus wasn’t. He wanted them to use his power of healing as a springboard of faith to see who He really was, the One who could give them food that would feed their souls (John 6:27). He wanted those healed of physical blindness to see more than trees. He wanted them to see God! He wanted the raising of the dead to show that He can give new life to the soul. Jesus clearly used the healing of the paralytic to help the spiritually sick crowd to open their eyes and be saved: “‘But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins …’ he said to the paralytic, ‘I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.’” (Mark 2:10-11).
Lord, open our eyes to see what You see, so we can become what You are!
- Joe Chesser preaches for the Fruitland church of Christ, Fruitland, MO. He may be contacted through the congregation's website: http://www.cofcfruitland.com/
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