It’s hard to relate to a God that we cannot see. It’s difficult to trust what seems to be beyond our comprehension and understanding. It’s challenging to live in obedience to a Holy God and His instruction when we are people with skin on – not gods.
Can it be done? Is it even possible for us? If God is real, why is He so different than us? Why can we not see Him?
As I continue to age, I begin to realize with greater clarity just how full of sin we are. I see my own sins. I see the sins within my family. I see the sins in my community of friends. I am overwhelmingly exposed to the sins of our culture.
As my awareness of sin grows, so too does my awareness of God’s holiness. God’s holiness is not a part or piece of who God is. God’s holiness permeates every single attribute of God’s character. God’s power is holy. God’s peace is holy. God’s provision is holy. God’s grace is holy. Holiness encompasses the very character of who God is. It is woven throughout every piece of His being.
This realization is both amazingly beautiful and reassuring as well as somewhat frightening. If God is holy – and He is holy – how on earth can I – a sinner – be in His presence? How can I ever be? And furthermore, if God is calling His people to live lives that are holy and set apart – is that even possible when we are born into a sin nature?
You see, sometimes, if we are being honest, we know we should be more like God and what we know God is calling us to be, but we feel as if God is so foreign to us that it’s an impossible undertaking. Our minds cannot comprehend but a piece of who God is – or what God is. We want a God with “skin on.” Someone we can relate to. Someone we can see. Someone who understands our perspective and sin culture – but still lives a life of holiness in the midst of it.
God hears our hearts. God knows our thoughts and God sees our needs. And in typical fashion for our holy and wise God – He provided just what we needed. “Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation.” (Colossians 1:15)
God sent Jesus to us so that we could be transformed. He came to reveal God to us in a new way. He demonstrated to us that obedience to a holy and set apart way of living – God’s way – is possible!
“For God in all His fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him, God reconciled everything to Himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by the means of Christ’s blood on the cross.” (Colossians 1:19-20)
Not only did God come to walk among us in the form of His Son Jesus Christ, but God also gave His Son sacrificially once for all time so that our sins would be removed from us. Friend, our sins have to be removed for us to be in the presence of God. They must be removed because God is holy. And in His holiness, He cannot look upon sin. Sin is counter to everything that God is. It is counter to everything God desires for us.
“This includes you who were once far away from God. You were His enemies, separated from Him by your evil thoughts and actions. Yet now He has reconciled you to Himself through the death of Christ in the physical body. As a result, He has brought you into His own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before Him without a single fault.” (Colossians 1:21-22)
Just let that passage sink in for a minute. Because of Christ – because of his sacrifice – we are no longer separated from God. In fact, because of Christ, all my sins are gone. I can stand before God as holy and blameless, not because of my own merit – but because God no longer looks upon me – but Christ living in me. Christ’s blood has covered me. I now wear his robe of righteousness.
God gave me what I didn’t deserve, but desperately needed! Grace. Mercy. Forgiveness. Hope. Peace. Love. Purpose. A future.
Thank you, LORD, for sending Jesus to walk among us and show us what you look like with “skin on.” Thank you, LORD, for the incredible gifts that you provide for your people. May we never forget the value of this gift. May we never take it for granted. Instead, LORD God, may we live lives that bring you honor and glory. We ask these things in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Blessings!