Formless God

A few weeks ago someone mentioned to me how pictures and images of Jesus are helpful to some people for prayer and worship. Not sure where my response came from, but it has gotten me thinking after reading some stuff in Deuteronomy recently. My response was that the Bible tells us not to make images for worship. It's one of ten specific things God gave us as His standard for Holiness in Exodus 20. I'm not saying if you have a picture of Jesus in your house that you're going to Hell because it's an idol you worship, please don't hear that.

Recently I read this in Deuteronomy 4.15-20, "So watch yourselves carefully, since you did not see any form on the day the Lord spoke to you at Horeb from the midst of the fire, so that you do not act corruptly and make a graven image for yourselves in the form of any figure, the likeness of male or female, the likeness of any animal that is on the earth, the likeness of any winged bird that flies in the sky, the likeness of anything that creeps on the ground, the likeness of any fish that is in the water below the earth. And beware not to lift up your eyes to heaven and see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, and be drawn away and worship them and serve them, those which the Lord your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven. But the Lord has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, from Egypt, to be a people for His own possession, as today."

When God spoke to Israel they saw no form. In the Bible when God speaks people most often describe it as thunder. Over and over it says that those present heard a sound but saw no one. This happens with Israel at Horeb, with the people present at Jesus' Baptism, at the Transfiguration, and to the men traveling with Saul on the Damascus road. I just thought of this, but God didn't even let Moses see His face. In Exodus 33 He allowed Him to see His back, but He said that no one could see His face and life. A huge part of that is because its the face of God, and it would be overwhelming to the point of death to see His holiness face to face. Chapter 33 ends with, "but My face shall not be seen." I believe God doesn't show His face, or His form as Moses said in Deuteronomy 4, so that His people couldn't make a statue of Him.

God is living and breathing. He desires not just worship and praise from us, but an active, vibrant relationship with Him. You can't have a relationship with a statue or a picture. God desires more than glory from us, He wants our love. In the beginning He made all of creation, land and sea, birds and fish, plants and animals, the sun and stars. All of creation gives Him glory. All of creation worships Him.

And "Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.' God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them... Then the Lord God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being" (Genesis 1.26-27, 2.7). God made man to worship Him and exist in relationship with Him. God doesn't just want our worship, He wants us. God must be worshiped and so even if we don't, creation has that covered, but God wants a relationship with us that only comes from humans made in His image.

God cannot be confined to a statue or a picture. Even if we had His form to copy there is no way we could accurately display God in an image. God is so much more than what He looks like. God's characteristics are who He is, and all of them cannot be captured in an image. If we had an image of God our view of God would be limited and incomplete. Think about pictures you've seen of Jesus. If you're in America you'll have a very western/European looking man with a neatly trimmed beard, long conditioned hair, and if I can be honest a very weak build (some images even look femanine). If He isn't hanging on a cross He's probably surrounded by children or sheep. Every picture I've seen of Jesus catches His forgiveness, gentleness, and compassion very well; but what about the rest of who He is?

One of the first blogs I ever wrote is called A Handshake Like Jesus', and it talks about the masculine, powerful, dangerous side of Jesus. The side that spent decades in the carpenter's shop getting callused hands and strong arms. The side of Him that drove people out of the Temple for turning it into a den of robbers and stood up to the Pharisees for injustice and self-righteousness.

Again I'm not saying that having a picture of an artist's perception of Jesus is a sin, but look at how that has shaped your perception of Jesus. Look at how that has impacted your worship of Jesus. Look at how that has influenced your relationship with Jesus.

God wants us to know Him as He is, not to worship what He looks like. God wants us to know Him intimately. God never shows His form so that no one can ever make an idol of Him. God is not dead where we need a statue to remember and celebrate Him. God is alive, and we can worship and communicate with Him.

May we all focus on the living God. May we live in a constant relationship with Him.

To God alone be the glory!

Peace be with you