In that upper room on the night of Jesus’ betrayal Phillip asked, “Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.” He was saying, “Tell us what the Father is like—that’s really all we need.”

Jesus replied, “Have I been with you all this time and you do not know Me yet? Whoever has seen Me, has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” (John 14:8-9)

Think about what that means! When Jesus spent time hanging out with the rejects of the religious leadership, that’s what God would do. Jesus was accused of being a friend of tax collectors and sinners. God the Father is a friend of sinners too.

When Jesus shows his concern for a blind or crippled person—that’s what the God would have done.

When he showed that he cared about a mother who lost her only son, or mothers who loved their children and wanted Jesus’ blessing, that’s how God would have reacted too. Just like Jesus, the Father also cares about the vulnerable, those who feel left out by society.

How God feels about sinners was demonstrated by Jesus when a group of men brought to Jesus a woman who was caught in the act of adultery, asking if she should be stoned as described in the laws of Moses. Jesus stooped down on the ground and wrote something in the sand that evidently embarrassed those accusers. After they looked over Jesus’ shoulder to read what he wrote, they quickly slipped away. When they were all gone, Jesus said, “I don’t condemn you either. Go and don’t do it anymore.” That would have been God the Father’s response. He too is not concerned with punishment but restoration and growth. His rules against adultery (or anything else) were not for His benefit but ours. We are the ones who suffer when do not live our best.

When God sees us return toward wholeness there is “joy I heaven.” He always welcomes His prodigal sons and daughters.

Throughout history there have been individuals who contrasted the God of the Old Testament with the God of the New. One of the first was Marcion (died about 160 AD) who taught that the God of the Old Testament was a wrathful, vengeful creator distinct from the loving, forgiving God revealed by Jesus. But Jesus showed that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, who notices when sparrows falls, also cares about us.

So if you want to know what God is like, look at Jesus. God looks just like Jesus and always has.

(The above heading is the title of a book I have recently enjoyed, God Looks Like Jesus, by Gregory A. Boyd)