Of all the senses, sight is the one we most rely on. Sound, touch, smell and taste add another dimension to our reality check, but we give more credibility to what we see.
Other senses are magnified for those who were born blind or have lost their sight. For them, sound, touch, smell and taste become their eyes. However, for the rest of us, sight is the number one checkpoint for verification.
For instance, a low battery warning in a fire alarm can be mistaken for a cricket, so sound can confuse us. Forced to identify something by touch alone (as in a popular game) can be very difficult. What smells like a flower may actually be perfume. Chefs are expert in making food taste like something else, to please our palate. However, unless we are watching an illusionist perform, what we see, we believe.
This tendency to only believe what we see presents a problem for some people as far as a relationship with God. That may be the reason some people are comfortable with an idol. People often state that they cannot believe in a God they cannot see.
God, our creator, knows this is a human characteristic and addressed it in several ways. He knows that people want to see Him.
God’s creation is a visible witness of an invisible God. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse (Romans 1:20 NIV).
God expects that those who are looking for Him will find Him in His creation. He also created us with spiritual eyes, with an inner sight that recognizes His presence. Jesus observed that some have eyes, but do not see as well as ears that do not hear. He is referring to spiritual sight and hearing.
God told Moses that He could not see Him face to face Jesus is the ultimate Word picture. For those who lived during His lifetime, many of them had the privilege of seeing Him face to face. Some in Old Testament times saw Him in a pre-incarnate form, sometimes as an Angel of the Lord. Those of us who were born after His death and resurrection can see Him through His involvement in history and time as a real, literal historical figure. No accurate pictures of Him exist and that is probably a good thing. He has provided what we need the most: an accurate Word picture of what God looks like.
It is God’s love that caused Him to give us the ultimate Word picture. He did not have to involve Himself in the lives of those He created, but He did.
© Stephanie B. Blake
February 2012
One Focus Ministries 