Why can’t I see God?

I love that moment when you play hide and seek with a small child. There is such joy on their face as they hide their eyes and assume that the rest of their body is also invisible! Whether it’s a blanket thrown over a pretty obvious child shaped lump on the bed, or some feet sticking out from a bulging curtain, they think they are hidden when in fact it’s clear where they are. It’s beautifully naive but such a simple joy! However, the delight they have is quickly forgotten when the roles reverse and they can’t find you. The excitement quickly subsides into panic as they think you might have actually… disappeared!

Is God playing a complex game of hide and seek with his children?

Pitching the level of difficulty for the age of the child is one of many skills that we parents develop. As our children grow, they can cope with more of a challenge, and they seek out trickier games to play with us. But alongside that development, the simple joy and vivid imagination give way to skepticism and concrete thinking. It’s likely that during the years of parenting 7–11-year-olds that they’ll wonder at some point why they can’t see God. Is he hiding? Or maybe if I can’t see him, he’s simply not there?

So how do we answer? Is God playing a complex game of hide and seek with his children? Why can’t we see him? Will we ever see him? Let’s see how the Bible can help us with this question.

If God was trying to hide from people, then walking among us (John 1:14) would seem a bit of a silly tactic!

We can see Jesus

During the summer I learnt a chunk of Colossians with my children, it started “no one has seen God but Jesus is exactly like him” …or in your adult translation it might read “he is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). The Bible teaches that Jesus is God, he and the Father are one (John 10:30). Jesus lived and walked on this earth and was seen by hundreds of thousands of people who touched him, talked to him, travelled with him, ate with him, worked with him, and welcomed him into their home. The gospels are full of accounts of people seeing Jesus face to face and it is in the face of Jesus Christ that God has been made known (John 1:18). If God was trying to hide from people, then walking among us (John 1:14) would seem a bit of a silly tactic!

Adam and Eve saw God

There are a couple of moments in scripture when we hear of someone who has seen God. Probably the most obvious one is Adam and Eve, they walked with God in the garden of Eden It was normal and easy for them to see him, and in fact if anyone was playing hide and seek it was the humans! However, because of their sin, they were separated from God. Whilst humanity would continue to talk with God (e.g. Genesis 4:9) we only hear of a handful of moments where people saw God physically again.

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Jacob saw God

The first moment after Eden is in Genesis 32 when Jacob wrestles with “a man” who he recognises to be God. He cries out “I saw God face to face” (Genesis 32:30). The man goes on to bless him and change his name to Israel. Some theologians think that this God-man was God the Son before he was born to Mary. They call it a ‘Christophany’. The Bible teaches that God the Son existed with God the Father and the Holy Spirit together before the creation of the world (Colossians 1:15-20). When Mary conceived, the eternal Son of God was joined with humanity to exist for the rest of eternity as a man. You can see now why when Jacob describes wrestling with “a man” who was God then we think huh, maybe this God-man was God the Son, who eventually took on flesh to become Jesus Christ.

Moses saw God

There are other moments in scripture when people see God, but not as a man. Moses would speak with God “face to face, as one speaks to a friend” (Exodus 33:11) however, God said “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live” (Exodus 33:20). So, which is it? Did Moses see God’s face or not?

Perhaps like looking directly at the sun, it is too painful and damaging for us to look at directly because we simply cannot cope with the power or something so glorious!

God is an “unapproachable light” so glorious that it is impossible for us to see or comprehend him (1 Timothy 6:16). Perhaps like looking directly at the sun, it is too painful and damaging for us to look at directly because we simply cannot cope with the power or something so glorious! God therefore shows Moses his back, to see some of him in a way that Moses could receive and appreciate - maybe like us enjoying the sun’s reflection off the water. Moses and God would speak “as friends” with an intimacy and a closeness, but without the physical appearance of God’s face.

We see in part

If you remember our facemask wearing years during the pandemic, you’ll remember that feeling of only seeing our friends in part. It wasn’t just the social distancing that was hard, the idea of veiling our face was uncomfortable and impersonal. The physical barrier across our face felt strange and made relationships much harder. We are in essence made for relationships.

So, when your child asks, “why can’t I see God?” don’t be put off by what might look like skepticism

The Apostle Paul describes our current relationship with God as like seeing a dim reflection of him, of only really knowing him in part (1 Corinthians 13:12). Trying to make friends or have a conversation with a loved one while wearing a facemask felt a bit like this. But Paul recognises that one day we shall see God properly. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, the damage of sin and our separation with God have been removed; we can be in close relationship with him and properly see his unmasked glorious face. We will stand before the throne of God one day and enjoy the full radiance of his light without our need for sunglasses or a reflection or needing God to hide or wear a mask (Revelation 22:4).

Playing hide and seek is fun, but the novelty wears off quickly (if you’re over 3!) The desire we have to see God properly is the natural yearning in us, and in your children, to experience his blessing like Jacob did, to be friends with him like Moses was, and to walk with him easily like Adam and Eve.

So, when your child asks, “why can’t I see God?” don’t be put off by what might look like skepticism but rather celebrate their desire to know him more completely and point them to the promise that one day we shall “see him as he is” (1 John 3:2).