Recently, I heard something so simple that it shouldn't have been profound...but I've had a hard time shaking it the last couple of days so maybe it's more profound than it seems at first glance. Basically, it was said that our attempts to explain God (think of the water-ice-gas comparisons) consistently fall flat because "God isn't like anything else." Well, that makes sense, doesn't it? I'm not sure why something that simple has never occurred to me, but boy have I tried to explain God to people over the years.
As I think about this truth, I am drawn to Paul's words to the Corinthians. He writes, "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." (I Corinthians 13:12) In all my best efforts to understand God (much less explain him)---all the books I read, the conversations I have, the conferences I attend, the church I align myself with---I will never see any more than in part while I am flesh and bone. I can't even begin to comprehend the heights and depths of who God is. He isn't like anything else I have experienced, am experiencing, or will experience. My humanity can't offer me anything that is even comparable to who God is and what He offers me now and eternally. In fact, Paul says that what I think I see now is just a poor reflection...my vision of who God is now is poor, despite my good intentions. One day, we will see Him face to face and experience the surpassing greatness of his love, a love that knows no boundaries. I know that love in part now; one day I will be completely overwhelmed by the fullness of that love. And just think, God knows me fully now! There is nothing about me that God doesn't know. He knows my every thought, my deepest secrets, my most difficult struggles, my most embarrassing sins, and the depravity of my heart. Yet, God's love is bigger than my falleness. He knows me completely and loves me completely, one of the all time great miracles.
So, as I think about how little I really know about God---how little we all know---it sure does slap my critical heart in the face. Who am I to think I have things figured out when God has made it very clear that I am only seeing the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Him? I'm seeing in part. Yes, I see some and He continues to reveal more to me as I look to Him. But I'll never know it all, and neither will any of you. And that's okay. But let's allow the truth of Paul's words to gently remind us to approach the Church humbly and with loving kindness as we work together to piece together the biblical vision of God's kingdom on earth.
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