What Does God Look Like?
People have different ideas of what God looks like and many of these images come from popular culture. Stories of judgement depict God as a harsh justice of the court wearing a black robe. Others show God as a loving, grandfather-type figure with a white beard and kind expression. When society talks about the consequences of right and wrong, God is pictured as a police officer catching someone in the act.
The reason there are so many descriptions of God is because people don’t know what He really looks like. We use our imagination to fill in the blanks.
“Show Me a Picture of God”
We learn from the Bible that God isn’t like us. We’re made up of skin and bones. He is not contained by a material body. God is a spiritual being so we can’t see Him, just like we can’t see the wind. Instead we observe its effect on the trees and water. In the same way, we can see what God does in our lives and around us, but just like the Bible says, “No one has ever seen God” (1 John 4:12). God is not limited by His creation, yet He is closer to us than our next breath.
The Bible describes a few instances where God appeared to people in a human-like form. Unfortunately, these events don’t give us a real picture of God because He changed His appearance into something we could understand. We’re limited in our ability to comprehend a God that has always existed and always will. “Before the mountains were born, before You gave birth to the earth and the world, from beginning to end, You are God” (Psalm 90:2).
“What Is God Like?”
However, the Bible says we can know what God is like and that’s because He came down from heaven. He became a man and His name was Jesus Christ. It may be difficult to understand, but He was both fully man and fully God.
If you want to know what God is like then look at the unique life of Jesus in the Bible. It says we can know God through Jesus, “No one has ever seen God. But the unique One, who is himself God, is near to the Father’s heart. He has revealed God to us” (John 1:18).
So what’s the most important thing the Bible says about God? It tells us over and over that He loves us and wants to have a personal relationship with each of us. The Bible says, “See how very much our Father loves us, for He calls us His children, and that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1).
Are you ready to have a personal relationship with your heavenly father?
Step 1 – God’s Purpose: Peace and Life
The Bible says:
"We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
Romans 5:1
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
John 3:16
"I [Jesus] have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."
John 10:10
Step 2 – The Problem: Our Separation from God
The Bible says:
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."
Romans 3:23
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Romans 6:23
The Bible says:
"There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death."
Proverbs 14:12
"But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear."
Isaiah 59:2
Step 3 – God’s Bridge: The Cross
The Bible says:
"For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus."
1 Timothy 2:5
"For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God."
1 Peter 3:18
Step 4 – Our Response: Receive Christ
The Bible says:
"Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God."
John 1:12
"If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
Romans 10:9
Here is how you can accept Christ into your life:
- Admit your need. (I am a sinner)
- Be willing to turn from your sins. (Repent)
- Believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the cross and rose from the grave. (Be saved by faith)
- Through prayer, invite Jesus Christ to control your life through the Holy Spirit. (Receive him as Lord and Savior)
We suggest a prayer like this one:
"Dear God, I know I’m a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe Jesus Christ is Your Son. I believe that He died for my sin and that You raised Him to life. I want to trust Him as my Savior and follow Him as Lord, from this day forward. Guide my life and help me to do Your will. I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen."
Did you pray this prayer?
