The Invisible God

No one has ever seen God, but God the only Son, who is at the Father's side, has made him known (John 1:18).

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation....for God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him (Col. 1:15;19).

For in Christ, all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form (Col. 2:9).

The Old Testament prophets told us who God is, but we could not believe it and we did not want to accept it.  It is so much easier to fashion a god in our own image than to accept the prophets' words.  Micah said this: 

Who is a God like you, who removes guilt and pardons sin for the remnant of his inheritance? Who does not persist in anger forever, but instead delights in mercy, and will again have compassion on us, treading underfoot our iniquities?  You will cast into the depths of the sea all our sins; you will show faithfulness to Jacob, and loyalty to Abraham, as you have sworn to our ancestors from days of old (Micah 7:18-20).

Human nature is such that we continue to flagellate ourselves for our sins and shortcomings.  How can we believe that God will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea --- and when will He do this?  How many tears, how much penance, is needed before it is enough for Him to forget our sins?  How can we believe that "He delights in mercy" and "will again have compassion on us"?

And then Jesus appears, the "image of the invisible God," in Whom "all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form."  And we see Him calling Matthew, the tax collector to come and follow Him.  We see Him right before our eyes saving the woman caught in adultery from certain death and saying to her, "Neither do I condemn you....go and sin no more."  We watch Him with Peter, who denied Him three times: "Peter, do you love Me?" 

In Him we see the Face of God, the Father Who loves His children and who is merciful and kind, forgiving iniquities generation after generation.  We actually see Him "treading underfoot our iniquities" and releasing us from the burden of sin.  We see Him raising the paralytic from his bed of pain and suffering -- and sending him on his way without further "penance" required.  It is hard to believe what the prophets have said about God -- until we can see it for ourselves in the face of Jesus.