“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

A.W. Tozer – The Knowledge of the Holy

Would you agree? So much of our lives, conscious and subconscious, is shaped by what we believe about God. Do we believe He exists? If not, we will make decisions in accordance with that belief. If yes, then what is He (or she) like?

A kill-joy?

A watch dog??

A loving hippe???

So much of life hinges on this question and even as a Christian, I feel I would stumble and stutter if someone asked me to describe who God is. Maybe I would quote what God Himself says about who He is (Exodus 34:6-7) and if I did, that would be a great start.

Most probably my default would be “God is love” — okay this is true but what exactly is love? We use the word so nonchalantly these days, what does it even mean? And does a God of love punish evil people? Is that loving?

So many questions, and this God, in His love, does not leave us without the answer:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…

 … And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1: 1, 14

He 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…

For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell…

Colossians 1: 15 – 17, 19

Jesus shows us who God is and what He was like. The fullness of God was pleased to dwell in Him and if we have seen Jesus, we have seen God the Father.

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 

John 14:7-9

Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world.

He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature

Hebrews 1:1-3

Whoever has seen Jesus, has seen the Father.

How can we see Jesus?

To start, we thankfully have four accounts of His life here on earth in the Gospels – each offering a different perspective on Jesus, helping us to see more fully who He is and who He reveals God to be.

Listening to this sermon, Seeking God, I felt challenged to spend more time in the Gospels. At one point in the sermon, the pastor references a friend who reads 3 chapters of the Gospels a day — getting through the Gospels in their entirety once a month. That’s 12 times a year reading through the life of Jesus from 4 different accounts! Talk about knowing Jesus!

And that’s just a start, throughout Scripture, Jesus is referred to and prophesied about, especially in the Old Testament — which admittingly does not get much play in church or even in our personal Bible reading.

If we seek, we will find. If we desire to know God for who He has revealed Himself to be, through Jesus, through His Scriptures, we will find Him.

You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.

Jeremiah 29:13

When we see God for who He truly is — not some god of our own making or imagination — it will bring us to marvel at Him and worship Him in awe, as the Israelites did when they saw His Power (Exodus 14-15), as Nebuchadnezzar did when God saved Daniel and his friends from the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:8 – 4:3) and as the people did as Jesus healed the sick, calmed the seas and rose the dead (Mark 4:35-40; Luke 5:17-26; Luke 7:11-17).

Are we missing who Jesus reveals God to be when we read God’s Word? Are we missing the wonder and awe as we read in order to find answers to our problems and application for our circumstances instead of reading for God’s intended purpose — knowing Him?

I was challenged with this question reading an account in “The Jesus Centered Life” of Laotian refugees who, when reading the account of Jesus calming the storm in Mark 4, did not talk about the “storms” in their own lives, as the pastor directed them to, but were instead caught up in the power of God.

“Do you mean that Jesus actually calmed the wind and sea in the middle of a storm?” [they asked.] “… he must be a very powerful man!”

The Jesus Centered Life p. 11

May we not miss the wonder and awe of who God reveals Himself to be in His Word. May we be engulfed in all of who He is. May we be consumed with His Majesty, His Mercy, His Power, His Love.

They that know Thee not
may call upon Thee as other than Thou art,
and so worship not Thee
but a creature of their own fancy;
therefore enlighten our mind
that we may know Thee as Thou art,
so that we may perfectly love Thee and worthily praise Thee.

A.W. Towzer