In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God... And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory... full of grace and truth. John 1:1, 14.

What is God like? Our hunger for God was articulated by Philip, 'Lord, show us the Father, that is all we need' (John 14:8). Jesus' answer was breathtaking: 'Whoever has seen me has seen the Father' (John 14:9). What is God like? He is like Jesus. Jesus is God for you, near you. Your faith depends on him from start to finish (Hebrews 12:2).

He cannot stop loving you. He thinks you're beautiful, he delights in you, so in the joy and comfort of this total acceptance, make room for surprise and hope and wonder and the unexpected, and above all the warm certainty that you are loved for ever.

And never forget, as an old mystic said, if you have God and everything else you have no more than having God only; and if you have everything else and not God you have nothing.

Teach me, dear Lord, frequently and attentively to consider this truth: that if I gain the whole world and lose you, in the end I have lost everything. Whereas, if I lose this world and gain you, in the end I have lost nothing (Cardinal Newman). Amen.