Seeing the Father

Augustine
May 25

No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. —1 John 4:12

“Imagine this if you want to see God: ‘God is love.’”

Moses on Mount Sinai: Jean Leon Gerome

God is invisible. He can’t be seen with eyes but with the heart. If we want to see the sun, we should purge the physical eye. In the same way, if we want to see God, we must purify the eye that we see God with. Where is this eye? Listen to the Gospel of Matthew: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” We shouldn’t imagine God according to what we want to see. For then we would make God out to be some huge form or an immense expanse. His figure would extend in all direc­tions like the light we see with our eyes. So either we would make God out to be as big as we could imagine or else picture Him as a benevolent old man. Don’t imagine any of these things. But imagine this if you want to see God: “God is love.” What sort of face does love have? What shape does it take? What stature? What feet or hands? No one can say. And yet it has feet that carry people to church. It has hands that reach out to the poor. It has eyes that show us those in need. For it is said, “Blessed is the man who considereth the needy and the poor.” Love also has ears which the Lord spoke about, saying, “He that hath ears to hear let him hear.” These aren’t separate parts of love, but bring complete understanding and sight to those who have it. Live in love, and love will live in you. Dwell, and you will be dwelt in.

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All Scripture references are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version. Excerpts from the early Church Fathers are in the public domain, but were organized and arranged for daily reading in Day by Day with the Early Church Fathers, © 1999 by Hendrickson Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts. (No longer in print). Used by permission and in accordance with sections 3.3, 3.4, and 3.5 of Hendrickson’s “Rights and Permissions”. All rights reserved.

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