Reflection:

People have many different ideas about what God is like. Who gets to define what God is like? Well, God does. And God has, in the person of Jesus.

God is not pure mystery beyond all understanding. In Jesus, God has chosen to reveal himself. Hebrews 1:3 says Jesus is ‘the exact representation of God’s being’. Colossians 2:9 says all of God’s fullness dwelt in Jesus. When one of Jesus’ disciples asked to see God the Father, Jesus replied, ‘Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.’ (John 14:9)

Reformer, John Calvin rightly said, “God is comprehended in Christ alone.” Former Anglican Archbishop Arthur Michael Ramsey puts it this way: “God is Christlike and in him is no un-Christlikeness at all.”

What is God like? He is like Jesus. In Jesus we see God. As my friend Dion Fasi puts it, “When God takes a selfie it looks like Jesus.” (see Colossians 1:15) What does this mean?

Read the gospels. Look at how Jesus interacted with his disciples, with the sick, with the marginalised, and with those searching for truth. In Jesus we see what God is like. God is trustworthy. God does have our best interests at heart.

Prayer:

Thank you, Father God that you do not want to remain a pure mystery, but in Jesus, you have given yourself to be known. Thank you, Lord Jesus, that you truly reveal exactly what God is like, and that this is such good news! Where my heart-picture of you, Lord, is different from what I see in Jesus, would you transform my mind by your Spirit into the true knowledge of God?