Exodus 33:20 “But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

God deals with us where and as we are. He knew that Moses couldn’t imagine Him in other than human terms, and so He very gently interacted with him on that basis. God is infinite Spirit, existing before creation, so the idea of Him having a back and a face is anthopomorphization of the highest order. Actually, that’s one of the major reasons for Christ coming to earth, born of a woman and having the same sort of body that we do. God knew we needed something on our scale to relate to. Here, He knows that Moses’ background is the pagan idols of Egypt, so He gives Moses an experience he will remember the rest of his life, without showing him something he would be tempted to replicate as an idol. We do relate to God on the basis of our experiences, and God knows this even better than we do. After all, He knows everything! One of the great things of the Gospel is that when we believe, God is no longer exterior to us, He takes up His residence in us. (John 14:16-17) That is far more personal and intense than merely “seeing His face.” That said, in our human weakness we do need something we can relate to. There is a story of a little girl who was afraid to sleep by herself, and her mother assured her that “Jesus is with you.” She replied, “Yes, but I want somebody with skin on.” Believers are often called to be “Jesus with skin on” to the people around them, because it takes major spiritual growth to really grasp that our Creator is both infinite and personal. That defies human logic, so God meets us where we are.

God blessed me with a fairly high level of “mental horsepower,” so I have an easier time of this than many. Part of that is being smart enough to know that I can never understand God fully! At the same time, I have experienced His personal touch so many times and in so many ways that I can’t deny that He is indeed both infinite and personal, that He created every atom in the universe and yet He still cares about me, who and where I am and what I am doing. I can’t explain it, really, but I can experience it, and I am deeply grateful. To me, this is the greatest proof that God is indeed Love, as John said. (1 John 4:8) I serve in a nation that is not culturally Christian, so much of what I say to people seems very foreign to them. I’ve got to back it up with a demonstration of the character of God, loving them with His love, all the while proclaiming the need for repentance and faith. That’s certainly not something I can do on my own! However, nothing is impossible for my infinite, omnipotent Lord, so I am to trust Him and yield myself to Him, for Him to use me however He pleases to draw people to Himself, for their salvation and His glory.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Thank You for the countless ways that You have allowed me to experience You, and for how You will keep growing me. Thank You for the assurance that in heaven I will know fully, even as I am fully known. (1 Corinthians 13:12) In the meantime, help me keep growing, to be increasingly useful to You, for the sake of the Body of Christ and for Your glory. Thank You. Hallelujah!