Have you ever desperately wanted to see God? Not just believe in Him—but see Him? I have. Sometimes I imagine it like Moses at the burning bush: awe falling on you like lightning, the air cracking with holiness. Moses saw the fire, heard the voice—and came down glowing so brightly they made him wear a veil. People couldn’t handle the afterglow.
But in Luke 3, something even more astonishing happens. At the Jordan River, one man—John the Baptist—witnesses something no other human being has ever seen before or since. Heaven doesn’t just whisper. It opens. And God steps into view.
All at once, the Trinity comes into focus:
The Son rises from the waters—Jesus, flesh and bone, soaked in our humanity
The Spirit descends gently, visibly, like a dove gliding through sunlight.
The Father speaks from above with thunderous tenderness: “You are my beloved Son; in you I am well pleased.”
It’s the closest we’ve ever come to seeing God with our eyes open. It was, as theologians later called it, the clearest glimpse of the mystery we call the Trinity—not three gods, but one God in three persons. Hard to grasp? Of course. But necessary. Because if we can’t imagine God loving, sending, dwelling, and delighting—then we’ve seen only a sliver of who He really is.
Jesus shows us what God looks like in skin and sandals. No wonder I’ve heard atheists say, “If God is anything like Jesus—I might believe in Him.”
C.S. Lewis once said, “If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.”
God doesn’t fit in our pockets. But sometimes, like He did at the Jordan, He shows up in a way that we cannot ignore.
I like the story:
A man said, “Pastor, I want to see God. Just one time. Face to face.”
The pastor said, “Well, are you really sure you are ready for such a divine encounter with a personal Epiphany?
The man replied, “Let me pray about it.”
Two minutes later, he peeked one eye open and whispered, “Okay, maybe just a strong feeling and a goosebump.”
This Sunday, I get to preach on this very moment. I’d love to have you join us—either in person or online—as we look at what it means to “see” God now. Not just in the skies, but in the pages of Scripture, in the face of Christ, and maybe even in each other.
Your friend for the rest of my life,
Pastor Tim White