I can’t see God

Last updated on: April 14, 2013 at 8:24 am by David Hayward

I can’t see God 2013-04-14T08:24:11-04:00 David Hayward

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

(Click on image to shop!)

I was struck yesterday while I was preparing my cartoon on the death of Brennan Manning that he called Jesus “the human face of God”. More of this thoughts deserve to be mentioned here:

“To live by grace means to acknowledge my whole life story, the light side and the dark. In admitting my shadow side, I learn who I am.”

and,

“When I get honest, I admit I am a bundle of paradoxes. I believe and I doubt, I hope and get discouraged, I love and I hate, I feel bad about feeling good, I feel guilty about not feeling guilty. I am trusting and suspicious. I am honest and I still play games. Aristotle said I am a rational animal; I say I am an angel with an incredible capacity for beer.”

In the cartoon above we see the man investigating the minutia through a microscope. He can’t see God. Then we see the man looking through a telescope at the vast universe. He can’t see God. Then we see the man studying exploring holy books. He can’t see God. Then we see Christ on the cross desperate. He can’t see God. This is reality. I’m not joking. Every honest person knows this.

I posted what I thought would be a simple statement on my Facebook page yesterday. I said:

“One of the greatest equalizers is that not one of us has seen God.”

Some of the responses I received made me want to throw my hands up in the air in despair. Some people claim to have seen God or know somebody who has or read about someone who did. Others say that we see God every day in the small things if we have spiritual eyes to see. Others said there is no God to see anyway. Ah, the human mind’s capacity to believe whatever it needs to believe! I talk with people all the time who defend the absolute inerrancy of Scripture where it says, “No one has seen God and lived”, but they claim they’ve seen God or that others have. I know many people who claim to have to seen God and even stood before him in heaven and received orders. Yet here they are walking around as alive as ever. We have no problem living with cognitive dissonance.

We are desperate. The incredible diversity of responses made me realize that people are desperate to see God or desperate to believe he can be seen. I claim we are all like Christ on the cross. We all suffer. We can achieve some Buddhist detachment from our suffering. But the suffering is there. It pervades the world. Honest people know this. And in the midst of this we cry out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

But I don’t believe that’s the end of it. There’s a bigger picture. It sort of reminds me of Paul’s idea that we may not see but we are seen. The greater story is that we are embraced in the All-Knowing and All-Seeing. The greatest of these is love. Love remains. I love helping people learn how to live honestly and authentically in this Mystery.

At The Lasting Supper this evening, we’re going to have a Potluck Hangout, a video conference, where we are going to talk about belief. Those who consider themselves on the spectrum of belief are going to share their journeys of faith with us. I can’t wait! I invite you to join us.

Previous Post

April 13, 2013

The Death of Brennan Manning: A Tribute Cartoon

Next Post

April 14, 2013 Jesus Does the Breaking Up

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category art cartoons cartoons 2 freebie music one minute message podcast Sophia teaching technology thought

Select a Month February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 March 2006 February 2006

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which tribe first accepted David as king after Saul's death?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Ephraim Judah Benjamin Dan