Can Anybody See God?

             A small boy once approached his slightly older sister with a question. “Susie, can anybody ever really see God?” he asked. Busy with other things, Susie curtly replied: “No, of course not, silly. God is so far up in heaven that nobody can see him.”

Time passed, but his question still lingered so he approached his mother: “Mom, can anybody ever really see God?” “No, not really,” she gently said. “God is a spirit and He dwells in our hearts, but we can never really see him.” Somewhat satisfied but still wondering, the lad went on his way.

Not long afterwards, his saintly old grandfather took the little boy on a fishing trip. They were having a great time together — it had been an ideal day. The sun was beginning to set with unusual splendor as the day ended. The old man stopped fishing and turned his full attention to the exquisite beauty unfolding before him. On seeing the face of his grandfather reflecting such deep peace and contentment as he gazed into the magnificent ever-changing sunset, the little boy thought for a moment and finally spoke hesitatingly: “Granddad, I – I – wasn’t going to ask anybody else, but I wonder if you can tell me the answer to something I’ve been wondering about a long time. Can anybody ever really see God?”

The old man did not even turn his head. A long moment slipped by before he finally answered. “Son,” he quietly said. “It’s getting so I can’t see anything else.”

The Psalmist proclaimed, ““The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands” (Ps.19:1). When we look at the beauty of the universe we can “see God.”  His presence is witnessed in the sunrise over Melbourne Beach and the sunset over the Gulf of Mexico. It is seen in the beauty of Springtime.  In the break taking colors of the Fall foliage.  In the majestic Rocky Mountains. And the awe inspiring Grand Canyon.

Paul spoke of the “eyes of our understanding being enlightened.”  Through the eye of faith we see many evidences of God. Not only in nature, but in people we love.  In the spiritual walk of a dedicated preacher or compassionate Shepherd.  In the warm embrace of an aged godly mother who will soon see God face to face.  In the confident, calm and dignified manner in which a brother or  sister faces certain death with the hope of eternal life.  And this is what keeps us going.  Because we “look not at the things which are seen, but the things which are not seen” (2 Cor. 4:18).

As we grow older, both chronologically as well as spiritually, we ought to be more like the grandfather. Why? Because our affections are set on heavenly things, our focus is spiritual and our goal is the eternal reward.  What about you?  Can you see God?

   —Ken Weliever, The Preacher