I write about God a lot, and I work for an organization dedicated to spreading good news about Jesus around the world. I see evidence of the Lord’s activity all around me, but I’ve never actually seen God in the flesh.

None of us have, actually. John wrote, No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in closest relationship with the Father, has made him known. Jesus came in flesh like ours so he could be seen and touched. No so with God the Father.

The prophet Ezekiel experienced a vision of God, who appeared out of a tornado with lightning and brilliance. Surrounded by spectacular creatures, Ezekiel described a figure of a man, consisting of glowing metal and fire, emerging like a rainbow in the clouds, radiant and hopeful.

But Ezekiel did not see God himself. He wrote, This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord. When I saw it, I fell facedown, and I heard the voice of one speaking.

Ezekiel viewed only a representation of God’s glory. A facsimile, a glimpse of a shadow. Even so, whatever he saw drove Ezekiel to the ground. His legs gave out. A hint of splendidness overwhelmed him. A trace of the real thing would have obliterated Ezekiel, like standing below a nuclear device detonated overhead.

The magnificence of a shadow points me to the awe-inspiring nature of God. Then, understanding that Jesus dwelt among us so that I might approach this previously unapproachable God, directs me to his goodness and desire that I might come to know him.

John 1 & Ezekiel 1 in Through the Bible in 2024

Photo by Luis Graterol