Theology 15: Face-to-face with God

What does God look like? What does his voice sound like? How tall is he? Different religions give a variety of answers to this question: gods look like people, like animals, or maybe a mash-up of the two. The Bible says this in John 4:24, “God is spirit.” He has no body! You could stand in his presence. He can talk to you. But he doesn’t have a body like you and I.

Wouldn’t it be nice to see God? Or at least talk to him. We could ask him why we suffer. Why he allows pain. Maybe lay a few critiques at his feet.

There’s a problem with that. If we stood face-to-face with God, if we stood in his presence, we would die. Why? We are sinful, and God is not. God lives in “unapproachable light” (1 Tim. 6:16). The hard truth to hear is this: we hurt others much more than we realize. My own shortsightedness, impatience, ingratitude, or anger cause most of the problems in my life. 

That situation changed with Jesus. God became man. He came down to us. Jesus lived here on earth. Then, in our place, Jesus died for us and took away our sin. That changed our relationship with God.

Though faith in him, Jesus clothes us with his holiness and his perfection. We can stand before God, face-to-face, and not die. How? Not by our life, actions, or holiness, but by the perfection the Jesus gives to us.