Growing up in upstate New York it was not unusual to wake up to a foggy morning. I remember looking out the window and wondering if it was going to rain all day or if the fog would disappear. My heart would leap for joy as little by little the brightness of the sun would shine through the fog. Soon you could see patches of blue sky. As the sun rose brighter and brighter, the fog would continue to evaporate. Usually between ten and eleven A.M. the fog would be gone, leaving the beauty of a clear blue sky with the sun radiating its bright light with. The warmth seemed to penetrate to the depths of my being.
God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:4 NIV)
The word “glory” here, means character. Jesus came into our world to put on display the beauty of God’s character, so that the light shining from His life would burn up all the darkness, the fog of lies that have been in our minds and hearts about God, from the very beginning, when you look at the Genesis story. Satan appeared to Eve and planted in her mind doubts or lies regarding God’s character. Listen to what He said:
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1-3 NIV)
Satan had subtly planted the lie in Eve's mind that God is looking out only for Himself by holding something back from her. “He is lying to you and cannot be trusted.” Both Eve and Adam believed his lie and our world was set on a path of self-centered living that has only brought heartache, pain, and suffering to our world. The only way that the lie or lies about God could be overcome was for Jesus to be incarnated—God in human form.
To allow the light of God’s true character to be put on full display in His life and death. Jesus said:
I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6, NIV)
The way Jesus lived (other-centered) is the way for all of us to live. The life He lived revealed the truth about the character of God—who He is, how He sees us, how He would have us to love one another.
The life He created was a new humanity, one in which people of every nation can receive, a new life, one that will live beyond this world into eternity. This Way, Truth, and Life is the path to being reunited with God.
Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:3 NIV)
Placed before us all is the opportunity to know God personally through the life of Jesus, of whom to know is life eternal. The question today is: Would you like to have all the fog cleared up about God in your life? How we see God is how we see ourselves and others.
Take a good look at the life of Jesus by reading the gospels of Mathew, Mark, Luke, or John. Ask God to open your eyes as you read that you might SEE the beauty of His character. Then, little by little the fog will clear up and you will come to the place of SEEING the full Son-light of the beauty of God.
Some of the common misunderstandings of God when Jesus was born were:
If you were born with a physical handicap it was because of your parent’s sins and God was punishing you.
If you became infected with a disease it was because of your sins and God was punishing you.
If you were in an accident, God was punishing you.
There were whole groups of people that were considered unworthy of God by the religious leaders. Imagine what your picture of God would have been if you were in any of those categories. How would you have felt. Ashamed? Guilty? Condemned?
Jesus who was God in human flesh cleared up all those lies, those who received the compassion of Jesus, those who listened and accepted what he taught were set free, once blind to the true beauty of God, now they began to see Him, through His radiant life, seen in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
Jesus taught them: Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow [seed] nor reap [the harvest] nor gather [the crops] into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they? (Matthew 6:26 NIV)
Every human being is of value in the eyes of God.
All that My Father gives Me will come to Me; and the one who comes to Me I will most certainly not cast out [I will never, never reject anyone who follows Me]. (John 6:37 Amplified)
People may reject you but, God never will.
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)
Remember these four words: God is for you, for us.
Someone sent me this text recently: “Thank you for making knowing God’s true character so vital to developing a closer relationship with Him. I have been working on that……As I read through the Bible I see God in a very different way than I used to. It’s like I am reading it with different eyes.”
Today, why not say a simple prayer: “Lord, Thank you for the opportunity to know you, open my eyes so that I might see you for who you truly are and live a loveshaped life. Amen.”
We have a new, easy-to-read booklet coming out soon called, “Steps to a Loveshaped Life.” You can request your free copy at our website below: loveshaped.life/booklet.
We also have a 13-week read through the Bible starting December 31, which includes daily reading, interactive online groups, a weekly podcast and a weekly live stream with Bob and Nathan. You can sign-up here: