4 Minute Read
Prepare Your Heart
To the best of your ability, get rid of all distractions. Take a few minutes to breathe deeply and quiet yourself in the Lord’s presence. Then, ask the Lord to speak to you in this time. Let Him know that you will listen and make whatever adjustments He will reveal to you.
Read God’s Word
A Verse for Today
Slowly and reflectively read the following verse(s) and listen to what God will say to you through His written Word. Consider writing down any insights He reveals to you.
1 John 4:12 (CSB): “No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God remains in us and his love is made complete in us.”
Reflecting on God’s Word
God the Father is like nothing we have ever experienced. Try as we might, we cannot comprehend Him fully.
Here’s an assignment for you. Go out on a clear night sky and make sure you are alone so that you cannot be disturbed. Look up at the stars in the sky and realize that the closest star (besides our own sun) is Proxima Centauri. That star is 4.24 light-years away. In miles, that is about 25 trillion miles. Stated another way, if you were to travel at the speed of light (about 186,000 miles per second), it would take you 4.24 years to get there. And that’s the closest star!
The farthest star that has been identified (so far!) is Earendel (WHL0137-LS). Due to our universe’s continual expansion, it would take you about 28 billion light-years to get there! Stated another way, the approximate distance from Earth is 165 sextillion miles (165,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 miles).
(The app I periodically use to view the night sky to identify stars, learn about them, and measure their approximate distance from Earth is Star Walk.)
Now, in your state of awe of how massive it is out there, realize that the God that we call our Father in Heaven is the One who made all of that in six days with only a word. If you think you can fully comprehend Him, you haven’t rightly understood Him.
So, how can God become “visible” and knowable to us?
For starters, He made Himself known in the person of His Son. If you want to know what God the Father is like, just read about Jesus in the Gospels. Did Jesus get angry at religious frauds? So does God the Father. Did Jesus weep, experience joy, laugh, love, grieve, stand up for the marginalized, and so much more? So does God the Father. Jesus is the One who makes the Father knowable to us.
After all, it was Jesus who said: “… The one who has seen me has seen the Father…” (John 14:9)
But did you know that you and I can also make our God visible? It’s true! You and I can do something that enables others to see our God!
“How?” you may ask.
1 John 4:12 (CSB): “No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God remains in us and his love is made complete in us.”
John is telling us that nobody has ever seen God because He’s invisible (1 Timothy 1:17; Colossians 1:15; Hebrews 11:27). But since God is love (1 John 4:8,16), we can make Him “visible” when we love others as He loves us. God resides in each believer, so we can “clothe Him” by loving others.
Have you ever heard someone look at a child and say, “You remind me so much of your father (or mother)”? Loving others like God loves us should do the same thing. Others should look at us and say (if they had the presence of mind to do so): “You remind me so much of your Heavenly Father!”
So, my friend, make God visible today! Love others as He loves us. Show the family resemblance and make the invisible God visible to others.
Spend Time in Prayer
- Ask God to help you make Him visible to others today by how you love them.
Going Deeper
If you want to dig a little deeper into 1 John 4:12, consider reading the following GotQuestions article:
“What does it mean that no one has seen God (1 John 4:12)?”
Sharing
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Matt Ellis is the pastor of White Hall Baptist Church in Richmond, Kentucky (whitehallbaptistchurch.org)
Matt’s Musings 