Seeing God

"Beloved, if God so loved us, we also must love one another. No one has ever seen God. Yet, if we love one another, God remains in us, and his love is brought to perfection in us. This is how we know that we remain in him and he in us, that he has given us of his Spirit. Moreover, we have seen and testify that the Father sent his Son as savior of the world. Whoever acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God remains in him and he in God. 

We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us. God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him. In this is love brought to perfection among us, that we have confidence on the day of judgment because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment, and so one who fears is not yet perfect in love." (1 John 4:11-18)

This is one of my favorite passages in the Bible.   It tells us how to see God.   No burning bush is necessary – just love for one another.

Frankly, I’d settle on respect for one another and treating others with kindness.   Love is a bit too much to expect.  Then again, seeing God is a high bar so the need to love even those we may dislike seems fitting.   It’s an Olympic achievement for most of us.

This year we should begin our training for that Olympic event requiring a change of heart (softening) and a new mindset (love) especially like the one we try to model – that of Jesus Christ.

Deacon David Pierce