Ron Hutchcraft Ministries - What is God Really Like?

Today's generation is really no different than the generations that have gone before us in at least one respect - we, like them, spend considerable time reflecting on our own ideas of what God must be like. Does God have a deep belly-laugh in heaven? Or is He an Irish tenor? Does He cry and have a range of other emotions like we do? What is His character really like? Is He truly as loving as people say He is and can He be trusted?

People in Jesus' day also wanted to know what God was really like, and Jesus made it clear that when people saw Him, they saw God (John 14:9 ). "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation" (Colossians 1:15 ). This verse describes what God looked like with skin on over two thousand years ago. (John 1:1 ). If people wondered what God was really like on a daily basis, all they had to do was watch the life of Jesus. Every aspect of Jesus' life - His conversations, His personality, His prayers, His playfulness, His miracles, His kindness, His fierceness - were the visible demonstrations of the person of God on earth.

But what about us today? Everything about God can be found completely in the person of Jesus Christ, as described in God's written Word. But check this out: the Bible is not the only source we have to help us find out who God is and what He is like. The Bible says that our bodies are the dwelling place of God Himself (1 Corinthians 6:19 ). When people look at your life as a Christ-follower, they should be able to see Jesus in living color.

When people ask, "What is God really like?" your name should come to mind. They should be able to draw their conclusions about God by watching how you live. I'll never forget the story of a teenage young man several years back who recalled how he came to know God in a personal and real way. This young man spent most of his teen years running far from God and had the adult youth workers from his church very concerned for him.

But one day, the young man showed up and something about him was completely changed. His life had been transformed by Jesus. The youth workers were dumb-founded, and when asked what caused him to finally surrender his life to Jesus, he recalled an adult man who worked with the youth group as a volunteer. The teenage boy said about him, "Every time I saw that man and looked into his face, I saw God. And I couldn't get away from Him anymore."

What do you really think about when you think about God? When others ponder what God must be like, do they immediately think of you?