If God is Real, Why Can't I See God?
by Joanne Gilchrist, writer and founder of Ruach Resources
I love this question! But if you find yourself tongue-tied trying to respond, I’ve written a book for you. It’s a children’s book with a character called Eve who doesn’t know much about God and finds it quite incredible that a person can be real and invisible. When I first wrote this book, it was a new era for our family; we moved to a new house and were expecting a new baby so that’s why we called her Eve. (Yes, our baby and the character!)
Eve (in the book) is a curious girl who is intrigued by how her friend and his animal friends believe in a God they cannot see.
“Really, Bleat
Did I hear you right?
Can God be real
When He’s out of sight?”
What do you already believe?
Faith starts with a bit of curiosity. Eve’s friend, Paul, asks her to look around and describe the wind. Jesus often taught people about invisible things - like Father God and the kingdom of heaven - by comparing them to familiar things . Like lost sheep, buried treasure and runaway children!
When you realise that you already believe in real, invisible things, it’s not so hard to imagine that God is also real and invisible.
What Eve really wants to know is not just how but WHY???? The universal question of all five year olds!
Why Is God Invisible?
If God is so important, why can’t we see Him? It would be much easier to believe in God if we could only see God, right? So WHY can’t we see God?
Here are three things to get the conversation started:
GOD IS FOREVER
In the Bible, a writer called Paul praises God like this: “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen” (1 Timothy 1:17 NKJV)
This reminds us that God is Eternal, Immortal and Invisible. I think there is a connection between these three things. (This is an idea that didn’t make it into the book so here’s a verse from a ‘Deleted Page’ that you won’t find in the finished version!)
“I see rusty tools and crumbling stones
Rotten apples and animal bones”
“Things that we see don’t last very long
Eventually they will all be gone.
But God is not made of stuff that will fade…”
The Bible teaches us that visible things (things that we CAN see) are not eternal. In fact, we are encouraged to focus on invisible things because they are more important, more valuable and will last forever.
“So we set our eyes not on what we see but on what we cannot see. What we see will last only a short time. But what we cannot see will last forever.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)
Even Jesus said so!
“Don’t store treasures for yourselves here on earth. Moths and rust will destroy treasures here on earth. And thieves can break into your house and steal the things you have. So store your treasure in heaven. The treasures in heaven cannot be destroyed by moths or rust. And thieves cannot break in and steal that treasure.” (Matthew 6:19-20)
Generally speaking, invisible, (and immaterial) things don’t rust, rot or decay and God is both eternal, immortal and invisible.
2. GOD IS SPIRIT
If God is not made of stuff that will fade, what is God made of then? The Bible says that God is Spirit. But what is Spirit? Spirit is a the part of a person that no one can see. It is the part that lasts forever, even after our physical bodies have turned to dust. When God created humans, He breathed His Spirit into us and we became alive (Genesis 2:7). So firstly, Spirit means life.
Ask-A-Grown-Up: “What other invisible things does the Bible say are descriptions of God?”
The Bible teaches us that God is Spirit and also that God is Love and God is Holy. It teaches us that God’s kingdom is a kingdom of righteousness and peace. So God’s Spirit is a Spirit of love, holiness, peace and righteousness (which means always doing the right thing).
Are these things visible or invisible?
(See p24 in the book: Why Can’t I See God? )
3. GOD LOVES FAITH
Finally, faith matters a lot more to God than you might realise. The heroes of the Bible are not heroes because they were cleverer, or better or stronger than everyone else. God chose heroes of the Bible because of their faith.
God’s is always looking for people who have the faith to look for Him. (Psalm 14:2)
God gives us opportunities for faith every day:
will we believe He is real?
will we have faith to pray when we need help?
will we have faith to do what’s right even when it’s hard?
will we have faith to put God first and trust Him with all the other things we need and want?
If we could see God, we wouldn’t need faith. And faith is one of the most important, invisible things in the universe.
Faith makes us strong, gives us courage, allows us to keep going even when things are difficult. Faith allows us to have hope when everyone else has given up. Faith helps us to love someone even when they are not lovely.
And faith in Jesus allows us to become rightful children of God, with all the benefits that brings - love, grace and eternal life to name just a few!
CHAT WITH A CHILD
If you are a grown-up with a child in your life, have you shared your testimony with them? Do they know the difference that invisible God has made in your life? Do they know when your faith first started to grow and why? Perhaps that’s something you can talk about sometime.
To order your copy of “Why Can’t I See God?”
To Download God for Kids app on Android, Kindle or iOS, tap here.