Forever Home in the Eternal Family of God

Daily Encouragement for the Family of God by Kenton Cheek

20 May 2025

Reading From John 6:45-71

“It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me. No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father. Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died. But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

—John 6:45-51

     In the red letters we find the statement that no one except the Son has seen the Father and yet we have multiple accounts in the Old Testament of people seeing God.  How do we reconcile these?  In my mind, the story of Moses being hidden in the cleft of the rock while the Lord passed by is an indication that whenever humans have “seen” God, they have only caught glimpses of His glory and not the full picture.  There are many anthropomorphisms throughout Scripture, but Psalm 91:4 describes His feathers and wings, so we know that much of this language describes partial ideas about Him, but not everything.  He is knowable, but not comprehensible.  Human language is inadequate to fully describe His nature, majesty and glory.

     Speaking of Moses and the children of Israel, Jesus goes on to make the comparison between the manna that Yahweh used to feed the Hebrews during the Exodus to Himself.  Jesus came down from Heaven to die for our sins that we might have eternal life.  Not only that, but we are to continually feast upon His Word for our spiritual sustenance.  He is the living water and the living bread that we need to live abundant and eternal lives. 

“Heavenly Father, thank You for giving Your Son Jesus to die in my place.  I pray that I would lead a life worthy of the calling that I have received.  There are no words that fully capture the beauty of Your holiness and the brilliance of Your radiance.  You are clothed with splendor and all power and authority belongs to You.  I love You Jesus.  Amen.”

Then Moses said, “Now show me your glory.”

And the Lord said, “I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the Lord, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”

Then the Lord said, “There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen.”

—Exodus 33:18-23