What Does God Look Like? - All The LORD is near Daily Devotionals for 2024

No one has seen God at any time.
John 1:18

What Does God Look Like?
Recently a research group from the University of North Carolina surveyed 511 devout Christians, asking them one particular question: "What does God look like?" What an interesting question because we must keep in mind that Scripture says, "No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him" (Jn. 1:18).

The response of the group was not what you would expect. Most pictured a God that actually looks like them! In fact, for those in the study who were more conservative in their thinking, they imagined God with a strong, jar-like face; and for those who leaned more liberal in their thinking, He had a softer image. To younger people in the survey God had a youthful image! The older ones envisioned Him as a wise, older looking individual! What is telling about this survey is that everyone who was questioned envisioned a God suited for their own basic needs. They were like Peter who, when he saw Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration, brought the Lord down to his own level, saying, "Let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah" (Mt. 17:4). This reminds me of the little girl who was drawing a picture on the kitchen table. When her mother noticed how serious she was, she asked, "Honey, what are you drawing." The little girl looked up at her mother and said, "I'm drawing a picture of God!" Her mother gently replied, "Honey, no one knows what God looks like!" Without looking up, the little girl said, "They will when I'm done!"

A. W. Tozer, in his book The Knowledge of the Holy, wrote, "What comes into our minds when we think of God is the most important thing about us." We need to have right thinking about who God is. We are created in His image; He is not created in our image!

Tim Hadley, Sr.