Making the Invisible—Visible!

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.”
Matthew 5:14 (NIV)

He was a very modest and unassuming scientist but Britain owes a great debt of gratitude to Robert Watson-Watt. Without his extraordinary efforts—and those of his team—often in the face of scoffing and lots of opposition from on high, this nation would have most certainly been overrun and defeated by Germany during WW2.

Watson-Watt invented Radar! As a meteorologist he had used radio waves for years to locate thunder storms, and he used that very same principle to locate and track enemy aircraft that couldn’t be seen by the human eye but became blips on his radar screen and therefore visible. By 1939 he had built 20 radar stations across southern Britain which could detect the enemy 100 miles away.  He called it “Making the invisible, visible!”

One of the things Jesus came to do throughout his earthly ministry was to reveal the Father, to show mankind just what God the Father was like—to make him visible! But just how did he do that?

Paul in his letter to the Colossians informs us that “The Son is the image of the invisible God” (Colossians 1:15). The Greek word translated image here is Eikon, and expresses two ideas.  One is likeness and Christ is the exact likeness of God, like the image on a coin or the reflection in a mirror. Or as Hebrews 1:3 says, “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” The other idea we get from Eikon is manifestation.  Jesus is the image of God in the sense that the nature and being of God are perfectly revealed in him—“No-one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and…has made him known” (John 1:18). Therefore the apostle Paul can boldly claim that we have “The light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:6).

Light reveals things that are invisible in the dark as a torch makes the invisible, visible! Jesus, who came as the Light of the world (John 1:9), told his disciples that they too were lights in the world.  And that includes you and me, so daily we are meant to be shining, revealing the love, compassion, tenderness and longsuffering of our Saviour to those around us wherever we are.

Making the invisible—visible!

Prayer
Fill us with your light and love, Great God, that we may show forth your very nature to others.
Amen

Study by Cliff Neill

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About the Author:
Cliff Neill is an Elder in Grace Communion Church Luton.

Local  Congregation:
Grace Communion Church Luton
Farley Hill Methodist Church
North Drift Way
Farley Hill
LUTON
LU1 5JE

Meeting Time:
Saturday 10:30am

Local Congregational Contact:
Harry Sullivan
Phone:  01908-582222
Email: harry_sullivan@wcg.org.uk