The real thing

So Jesus answered them, ‘I am telling you the truth: the Son can do nothing on his own; he does only what he sees his Father doing. What the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. He will show him even greater things to do than this, and you will all be amazed. Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, in the same way the Son gives life to those he wants to.’ (verses 19-21)

Read John 5:19-29

In your wallet do you keep a photograph of someone special? Your wife or husband? Your children? Your dog? Tucked away somewhere in your mind you’ve probably also got a photo of God. How would you describe your photo of God? Perhaps he is a sugar-sweet God who couldn’t possibly send anyone to hell. Or perhaps he reflects your own sad upbringing—an aloof and removed God who couldn’t care less about you. The trouble with our photos of God is they are never in focus. They are blurry. Sometimes they don’t look anything like God at all.

That’s why Jesus is so much better than a photo of God—he is the ‘real thing’. He is God walking among us, showing us what God is really like. Some things we will like, some things we won’t. But one thing is sure: looking at Jesus takes the guesswork out of knowing God.

For God so loved the world that he did not send a photo.

Heavenly Father, thank you for giving me Jesus so that I can know what you are like. Amen.

by Linda Macqueen, in ‘New Strength for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 1998)

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