Staring at the Sun

Did you ever, as a group of kids, have contests to see who could stare directly into the sun the longest? If so, it was a pretty stupid thing to do and you should have been a smart kid like me. The sun is too bright to stare at.

Last night I was reading the 'Epistle of Barnabas' and there was an interesting line that jumped out to me, "He (Jesus) revealed himself to be God's Son. For if he had not come in the flesh, men could in no way have been saved by looking at him. For when they look at merely the sun they are not able to gaze at its rays."

It made me think of all the times in my life that I wanted God to just show Himself to me directly so it would be easier to have faith. I'm starting to realize that if God answered me the way I wanted, I likely wouldn't survive such an encounter. It seems the incarnation was not just an awesome opportunity for us to 'see' God, but also an answer to the reality that in these bodies we 'cannot see' God.