No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. —1 John 4:12
An amazing professional who is very, very close to my children and me is in the final weeks of her pregnancy. We were blessed to know her and her family journey with her husband very early on. Since we see her weekly, we have watched her grow beautifully into the first step of parenthood. I smile at what John says about “full expression” in this verse because this speaks to love being seen—literally. This also speaks to how love grows—literally.
While I’ve been around pregnancies in the past, this is the first time in my life I’ve been blessed to watch firsthand the miracle of love growing quite like this. Today, for example, our coach and champion is notably gaining size not only over her belly but also her sides. I mean, hello girth! This woman IS pregnant!
It is true that no one has ever seen God because “seeing” God cannot be minimalized to a single snapshot event or experience. Rather, we see God in the culminations of our lives. In our every-things. Stars. Moon. Pregnancies. Flowers. Waterfalls. Majestic birds in flight. Jets streaming across the sky. Atoms.
And there is so much more to God than sight. There is feeling God emotionally, hearing God internally, and living with God intentionally, wonderfully, solemnly, introspectively—and joyfully.
No, we haven’t seen God. But we can identify God when we love each other with full expression.
PRAYER: God of all, who is before, now and always, bless this almost-with-us baby girl. Also, help us do what you do, which is inspire and enable us to not just watch love grow, but to nurture and nourish love along its way. Amen.