This week’s devotions are based on Week 7 of “How Would You Answer? Does Jesus care? (WATCH HERE)
John 17:6–8 6 “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.
One of the deepest questions people ask is not simply whether God exists, but what God is actually like.
Is He distant or near? Harsh or compassionate? Disappointed or patient? Interested in our lives or indifferent to our struggles?
Jesus answers those questions in John 17 when He says to the Father, “I have revealed you to those whom you gave me.”
Jesus came to make the Father known.
Many people carry distorted pictures of God. Some see Him as impossible to please. Others imagine Him as detached from human suffering. Some fear Him but do not know His love. Others believe God tolerates them but could never truly delight in them.
Jesus corrects those false pictures.
When we look at Jesus, we see the heart of the Father. John 1:18 says, “No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son… has made him known.” Jesus is not hiding the Father from us. He is revealing Him to us.
Look at Jesus throughout the Gospels. He welcomes children. He touches lepers. He forgives sinners. He weeps with grieving friends. He feeds hungry crowds. He washes the disciples’ feet. He prays for weak followers who are about to fail Him.
This is what God is like.
The cross itself reveals the Father’s heart most clearly. God did not stand far away from human pain. He entered it through Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:19 says, “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ.”
Sometimes our experiences with people shape how we think about God. An absent father may make it difficult to trust God’s presence. Harsh criticism may make it hard to believe God is gracious. Rejection may make us fear abandonment.
But Jesus invites us to define God by His revelation, not by our wounds.
If you want to know whether God cares, look at Jesus.
Jesus shows us that God is holy, but also compassionate. Powerful, but also personal. Exalted, but also near to the brokenhearted.
This truth also changes how we represent God to others. People often form impressions about God based on the lives of Christians. That is a sobering responsibility. We are called to reflect the character of Christ through patience, humility, compassion, forgiveness, and truth.
Today, spend time looking at Jesus. Read the Gospels slowly. Watch how He treats people. Listen to His words. Let Him shape your understanding of the Father’s heart.
God’s care has a face, and His name is Jesus.
Reflect: What false ideas about God do you sometimes struggle with? How does Jesus help you better understand the Father’s heart?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for revealing the Father to us. Thank You that we do not have to guess what God is like because we see His heart in You. Heal the distorted pictures of God we carry and help us trust Your love more deeply. Teach us to reflect Your compassion and grace to others each day. In Your name, Amen.