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Jesus Gives Us a Living Picture of God

Throughout history, people have wrestled with understanding God. Who is He? What does He care about? How does He respond to us? Jesus answers these questions in the most direct way possible. Through His life and actions, Jesus shows us what God is really like in the way we can best understand it — by example.

Consider how Jesus responds to pain. When He encountered people in suffering, He never turned away. He healed the sick, fed the hungry, and comforted the grieving. This isn’t just Jesus showing compassion; it’s God Himself responding to our pain. Similarly, think of how Jesus dealt with sinners. He didn’t avoid them or condemn them outright. Instead, He sat with them, spoke to them, and forgave them. “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more” (John 8:11, ESV). This is God’s response to sin — not rejection, but redemption.

Even Jesus’ anger reveals God’s heart. Who made Jesus angry? It wasn’t sinners or skeptics but those who claimed to lead others to God while spreading judgment and fear instead of love and grace. Jesus’ anger at the Pharisees and teachers of the law arose from his love for people. In their deluded idea that they understood God, they were misrepresenting God as rule-oriented and leading people into that particular hell rather than teaching as John taught, “God is love.”

The Saul of Tarsus is a striking example of how you can know a great deal and be passionate about what you believe… and be completely wrong.

Learning from Saul’s Transformation

The story of Saul of Tarsus, who became the Apostle Paul, perfectly illustrates the power of encountering Jesus. Saul was passionate about God, convinced he was right with Him, and deeply committed to the law. He had studied under Gamaliel, one of the greatest teachers of the time, and knew the Old Testament inside and out. Yet Saul’s understanding of God was incomplete. His zeal led him to persecute Christians, believing he was defending God’s honor.

Then, in a single moment, everything changed. On the road to Damascus, Saul met Jesus, and that encounter transformed his life. All his knowledge and passion were redirected. He realized that his understanding of God had been a shadow, a partial picture. In Jesus, Saul saw the full reality of God—a God of grace, mercy, and truth.

Shadows and Substance

The Old Testament gives us glimpses of God, much like shadows hint at the shape of an object. Paul writes of the Old Testament laws and practices, “These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ” (Colossians 2:17, ESV). Imagine standing in the glow of a setting sun, looking at the shadow of a tree. The shadow gives you an outline, but you can’t see the leaves, the texture of the bark, or the fruit hanging from the branches.

Creation itself is but God’s shadow. Paul reminds us, “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world” (Romans 1:20, ESV). The beauty of a sunset, the vastness of the ocean, the intricate design of a flower—all these point to the Creator. But they only give hints of who He is.

In Jesus, the God whose shadow is cast over all creation steps into the light. He becomes fully knowable. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, not as an abstract idea but as a person — Immanuel, God with us.

God Meets Us Where We Are

One of the most remarkable truths about God is His willingness to accommodate our understanding. Like a loving parent explaining a complex topic to a child, God reveals Himself in ways we can grasp. Think about how you might answer a five-year-old’s question about where babies come from versus how you would explain it to a teenager or a medical student. Each explanation is true, but each is tailored to the listener’s capacity.

In the Old Testament, God revealed Himself through shadows and accommodations. But on Christmas, He revealed Himself in the fullest way we could understand — by becoming one of us. Jesus didn’t just show us God’s nature; He lived it. His disciples witnessed His power over sickness, nature, and even death. They saw His patience, love, and forgiveness, even in the face of betrayal and misunderstanding.

As Jesus prepared to leave them, He made it clear: “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9, ESV). This was more than a statement; it was an invitation. Through Jesus, we see the heart of God laid bare.

A God Bigger Than Our Imagination

One of the great gifts of Christmas is the realization that our ideas about God are often too small. Philosophers and moral teachers have offered glimpses of divine wisdom as they contemplated the shadows of God, but even their best efforts fall short.

Take, for example, Confucius, who taught that kindness should be repaid with kindness and enemies treated with justice. Jesus, however, calls us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Matthew 5:44). Or consider Aristotle, who suggested forgiveness should be extended when reasonable. Jesus takes forgiveness to a radical level, teaching us to forgive “seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18:22), which is another way of saying, “Quit keeping track of wrongs done to you.”

Without Jesus, we are prone to imagining a God limited by our human understanding — too small, too distant, too conditional. But in Jesus, we see the true God who loves extravagantly, forgives endlessly, and walks with us through every trial.

God’s Heart Revealed

When you look at Jesus, you see how God feels about you. He hurts for the separation caused by sin, just as we ache when estranged from loved ones. He sees your pain and confusion and meets you in it, staying with you as you grow and heal. Jesus never walked away from someone because they were broken or at the end of their rope.

God’s response to sin is perhaps the most astonishing. Sin is serious — it damages us and separates us from God. But rather than condemn us, God took the penalty of sin upon Himself through Jesus. In doing so, He demonstrated both justice and mercy, showing us that sin has consequences but that His love for us is greater than our failings.

The Gift of a Living Picture

Christmas reminds us that God doesn’t want to remain a distant shadow. In Jesus, He became a living, breathing picture of who He is and how much He loves us. When you wonder how God feels about you, look to Jesus. When you question whether you are forgiven, remember His words to sinners. When you feel lost or broken, recall how He stayed with His disciples, even in their confusion.

The truth of Christmas is this: God is with us. He is for us. And in Jesus, we see Him as He truly is — our loving Father, Redeemer, and Friend.

This Christmas, may the light of Christ illuminate your understanding of God. May His love fill your heart and His presence guide your steps. For in Jesus, the shadow has become substance, and the unknowable has been made known.