Riddles and Revelations (Friday Devotional)

 

No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.

- John 1:18

I love a good riddle, something to tease your brain and get you thinking.

For example, Mississippi has 4 S’s and 4 I’s. Can you spell that without using S or I? Answer: T-H-A-T.

Here’s another: Grandpa went out for a walk and it started to rain. He didn’t bring an umbrella or a hat. His clothes got soaked, but not a hair on his head was wet. How is this possible? Answer: He’s bald!

One more: Name 3 consecutive days without naming any of the days of the week. Answer: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Riddles like these make you think outside the box for a moment; they leave you grasping for an answer that you know is simple, but you just can’t quite get your mind around. The fun—and the frustration—of riddles is the search for answers that so often elude you.

For many, God is just such a riddle. People look at creation and believe that someone brought it into being, but they can’t quite wrap their minds around the idea of a divine Creator. They read God’s promises in the Bible, but they look at a world rife with injustice and destruction and can’t bring themselves to believe. They can fathom that the answers to their questions are found in God, but God Himself remains unknown to them.

The good news is that in Christ, God has revealed Himself to us; He has shown us exactly who He is. We no longer have to wonder what God is like, because Jesus is “the image of the invisible God,” the “Word made flesh.” Whatever questions you have about the grace of God, the power of God, the truth of God, and the love of God, all of these questions find their answers in Jesus.

In Christ, God is not a riddle to be solved, but a revelation to be seen. So if you want to know what God is like, you can stop racking your brain—instead, simply open your eyes. Look to Jesus and you’ll see the glory of God.