Last year, an illustrator talked with a group of children about what they imagine God looks like. The children gave varied, and often humorous, descriptions of God’s physical appearance, and the illustrator drew what they described, asking them questions along the way for clarity. One child said that God has a frog’s body with a lion’s head. Another child said God wears a Mohawk haircut, while another child said God has wings with attached hands which hold a hot dog, in case God gets hungry.

God is beyond human comprehension. No human language has words precise enough to describe God or God’s physical form. Hence, even if we could comprehend God, our limited language cannot accurately illustrate the details of God.

The imagination of a child is limitless. Children describe God using language and images with which they are familiar. As adults, we know there is no true way to describe God to others. So we rely on our faith and experience to talk about an indescribable Creator to those who question God’s existence, character and nature.

• When you were a child, what did you imagine God looked like? If you could draw a picture of God, what would you include?
• What words for you come the closest to describing God’s character and nature?
• How do you try to explain the Creator to those who question God’s existence, character and nature?

This post was also published at Christian Living in the Mature Years.