It’s amazing how the simplistic perspective of a child can quickly become complex in hands of a “grown up.” It was a simple question, really. One that anyone would easily ask about a million other things or people. But I was left mute at the perfectly understandable question he posed…deep in the throes of labored nighttime routine…one I was trying desperately to bring to a close after a very trying day. But he asked so sweetly,
“Can I say one more thing?”
{Rather large sigh}
“Yes, what do you want to say?”
“What does God look like?”
You see, the thing about kids is….they’re not up on social graces. They are not concerned with correct timing or appropriate circumstances. So, the fact that my eyelids felt as if they were accompanied by a ton of bricks... made no matter. And the sight of my limbs dangling pitifully from tense shoulders, as if the aftermath of a fierce tornado…didn’t hold him back one bit. After all, it was a perfectly logical question, and we had been talking a lot about how God is with us wherever we go. Naturally, he would want to know what this guy looks like….this God who is always hangin’ around.
So, I rustled through my scrambled egg brain to try and come up with a short concise answer to a question I’ve been pondering my whole spiritual pilgrimage.
What does God look like?
If you find yourself sitting on the edge of your seat now, waiting with great anticipation and high expectations for an incredible answer that you can store in your “spiritual conversations with your children” file….you might as well nuzzle back in lounged position… because I’ve got nothin’ for ya. I managed to come up with an answer that satisfied him for the time being. He reluctantly (as always) laid back on his stack of pillows as I got him “cozied up” with Pooh, blankie, and lamp glowing near by.
But the question has lingered in my heart…what a simple question. And I find that what I know of His features are only bits of evidence that He leaves for me to observe. It’s kind of like those pictures I take of my kids when the light behind them is too bright. It muddles the specifics of their faces, but their form and likeness is there.
And maybe I’m on to something there. Maybe His glory and majesty outshine what we can tangibly grasp with our human eyes. We see His form…we watch His work…we see the evidence. We long to see His face…His fullness.
Perhaps we are supposed to long…. Perhaps if we didn’t long, we would settle ourselves deep & cozy in this world with faulty compass & no oil for the lamp.
And so we long….
And maybe that’s more important for them to know. They don’t need to be told what He looks like. They just need to long…
They need to long because they need a compass that always points to His son.
They need to long because they need the oil of His Spirit to burn bright…to show them The Way.
They don’t need to be told what color His eyes are, or the length of His hair.
They need long for Him.
So let them long…don’t try and answer all their questions…because some questions aren’t meant to be answered.
Some questions are meant to draw us nearer.
“Can I say one more thing?”
{Rather large sigh}
“Yes, what do you want to say?”
“What does God look like?”
You see, the thing about kids is….they’re not up on social graces. They are not concerned with correct timing or appropriate circumstances. So, the fact that my eyelids felt as if they were accompanied by a ton of bricks... made no matter. And the sight of my limbs dangling pitifully from tense shoulders, as if the aftermath of a fierce tornado…didn’t hold him back one bit. After all, it was a perfectly logical question, and we had been talking a lot about how God is with us wherever we go. Naturally, he would want to know what this guy looks like….this God who is always hangin’ around.
So, I rustled through my scrambled egg brain to try and come up with a short concise answer to a question I’ve been pondering my whole spiritual pilgrimage.
What does God look like?
If you find yourself sitting on the edge of your seat now, waiting with great anticipation and high expectations for an incredible answer that you can store in your “spiritual conversations with your children” file….you might as well nuzzle back in lounged position… because I’ve got nothin’ for ya. I managed to come up with an answer that satisfied him for the time being. He reluctantly (as always) laid back on his stack of pillows as I got him “cozied up” with Pooh, blankie, and lamp glowing near by.
But the question has lingered in my heart…what a simple question. And I find that what I know of His features are only bits of evidence that He leaves for me to observe. It’s kind of like those pictures I take of my kids when the light behind them is too bright. It muddles the specifics of their faces, but their form and likeness is there.
And maybe I’m on to something there. Maybe His glory and majesty outshine what we can tangibly grasp with our human eyes. We see His form…we watch His work…we see the evidence. We long to see His face…His fullness.
Perhaps we are supposed to long…. Perhaps if we didn’t long, we would settle ourselves deep & cozy in this world with faulty compass & no oil for the lamp.
And so we long….
And maybe that’s more important for them to know. They don’t need to be told what He looks like. They just need to long…
They need to long because they need a compass that always points to His son.
They need to long because they need the oil of His Spirit to burn bright…to show them The Way.
They don’t need to be told what color His eyes are, or the length of His hair.
They need long for Him.
So let them long…don’t try and answer all their questions…because some questions aren’t meant to be answered.
Some questions are meant to draw us nearer.
