In our gospel reading for today, the gospel writer John reminds us precisely why Jesus was sent to us. No one has seen God the Father. And in the absence of information from our senses, we humans can use our flawed imaginations to create a God in whatever image we want. So God sends us his Son, a man we can see and hear and relate to, to show us his character, and to be his Word....
I'm sure you've all heard the fable about the five blind men trying to describe an elephant. The blind man at the front grabs his trunk and proclaims, “an elephant is like a hose.” The one at his head grabs his ear and states, “an elephant is like a sail.” One slaps his side and says, “an elephant is like a wall,” one touches a leg and declares, “an elephant is like a tree,” and the fifth blind man gets whacked by his tail and cries out, “an elephant is like a whip.” One elephant, and five completely different descriptions – and how crazy the description of one blind man must sound to the other four! If only they could get a glimpse of the entire elephant, it would be clear to them why they disagree so strongly....
As John writes in our gospel reading today, “No one has ever seen God.” And so, we are left like the blind men, groping around for answers as to what God is really like. And depending on how you interpret the experiences of your life, your description of God will sound crazy to other people. You may think God is gracious, but there are many people who think God is picking on them personally. You may think God is inclusive, but there are many people who think God has asked them to kill everyone who does not agree with their beliefs about Him. You may think God is interested in every facet of our lives, but there are many people who think God doesn't, can't, and shouldn't care, about what happens in workplaces and bedrooms. You may think God interacts with the world, but there are many people who think God is a psychological construct that weak and guilty people use to cope with life. As one organization describes it, we respond to God AS WE UNDERSTAND HIM. And in the absence of SEEING GOD, how can we put our trust in a God that may or may NOT be AS WE UNDERSTAND HIM? What if he really is like a house, when we think he's like a whip? With all the opinions swirling around, that people are willing to kill and die for, no wonder there are so many around us, who decide they CAN'T trust in God....