No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

— John 1:18

Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.

— John 5:19

They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.

— Ephesians 4:18

For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.

— Romans 1:21

but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.

— Isaiah 59:2

They will suffer the penalty of eternal destruction, separated from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His might

2 Thessalonians 1:9

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, mercy and salvation from Christ to you.

When people look to nature, themselves, and one another, instead of glorifying God, they believe human beings are good and getting better with each passing generation. But when we look around, issues such as hatred, violence, and selfishness persist. With eyes closed to God’s truth, and without recognizing God, humanity remains guilty of sin and separated from God, now and forever.

God’s righteous wrath continues to rest upon every person who willfully refuses to acknowledge and worship Him as the Creator and Lord of all. Yet in His patience and mercy, God continually reveals His eternal power, divine nature, and glory through the wonders of creation, and the moral law written on every human heart. Even more definitively, He has made Himself known through Jesus Christ, the eternal Son who became flesh, lived among us, died for sinners, and rose again. In light of this dual revelation, nothing is more important than how we respond to God.