Is this what God looks like?

A group of psychologists asked 551 American Christians what they think God looks like. The test subjects were shown hundreds of randomly varying pairs of faces and asked which of the two looked more like “the face of God.”

The composite shows a God who is white, young, and clean-cut.

Obviously, no one on this side of heaven can know what God really looks like. For instance, Revelation 4 describes him in symbolic language that expresses his holiness and awesome power but does not picture him in anthropomorphic terms. Our finite minds cannot comprehend his infinitude.

The interesting part of the study, however, was the degree to which people tended to believe in a God who looks like them. Caucasians imagined a white God, while African Americans pictured a black God. Younger people saw a younger God, while attractive people imagined a more attractive God.

As Voltaire noted, “In the beginning God created man in His own image, and man has been trying to repay the favor ever since.”

“I am your servant”

Reading Psalm 143 this week, I was struck by a thought I’d never considered before.

David prayed, “For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life! In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!” (v. 11). David was so certain God would answer his prayer that he then testified, “In your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies, and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul . . .” (v. 12a).

Now comes the new thought.

David ended his prayer with the words, “for I am your servant” (v. 12b). “Servant” translates the Hebrew ebed, meaning someone who is subordinate to a master or owner. Why would David think that the Lord was more likely to answer his prayer for protection if he was the ebed of God?

For this reason, I realized: a master is responsible for his or her servant. A good master provides security and provision, supplying the needs of the servant. So long as David remained the ebed of God, he could count on the…