What Does God Look Like?
Coming home late one night after extensive travels, something strange happened as I leaned in to kiss my three-year-old "good night." His chubby little hands shot out from under the covers and squeezed my cheeks. His eyes searched every detail of my face. He then closed his eyes tight and repeated this sequence at least twice. I enjoyed the moment but finally asked, "Hey buddy, what are you doing?". He said, "Daddy, while you were gone, I was afraid I forgot what you look like, so tonight, I'm making sure I never forget."
Since that night, I've often wondered if it's possible to forget what our heavenly father looks like. The Bible gives us descriptions of God's presence and power, as well as accounts of people who have encountered Him. From these reports and our personal experiences with Him, we can form our own composite picture of God.
The first words from the Bible are, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth" (Genesis 1:1). This passage affirms that God is the Creator and the source of all life. From before time, God has been present and active in the world. Humanity didn't get involved until God said, "let us make humans in our image" (Genesis 1:26). So if you take this literally, the closest you'll get to "seeing God" is when you see a fellow human being. You might be saying, "Oh my!" "Oh wow!' Or "Oh __!" – depending on what human you've been looking at lately. All were created in God's image.
We cannot stop with the physical or tangible aspects. When we discuss what God looks like, we must consider the essence and presence of God. For instance, the great leader Moses quoted God as saying, "No one can see me and live" (Exodus 33:22). This indicates that God is so remarkable and powerful that even if you could see all of Him, you couldn't handle it!
Isaiah, a renowned prophet during a difficult season of life, had a vision of God sitting on a throne. This supreme being has so many elements to His being that they could not be contained in the throne room but "filled the temple" (Isaiah 6:1). In this case, how can one not see God?
According to the book of Job in the Bible, God speaks from a whirlwind. God's presence is so tremendous that Job falls to the ground and worships Him. Job says, "I have heard you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you" (Job 42:5-6).
God is not a being that can be seen with the human eye. He is holy, powerful and mysterious, and beyond our understanding.
However, we can "squeeze His cheeks," so to speak, by praying and reading His Word.