Sunday, February 19, 2012

Majesty

I've been reading "Knowing God" by JI Packer.
Man, I love when my classes assign me books like that for homework.  Homework: learning about your Creator. Yes, please!

I read recently about God being majestic.  Packer acknowledged that God is indeed a personal God, and this truth is obvious from the very first few chapters of Genesis.  But he also wrote that so often we miss out on knowing God and learning who God truly is because we make Him so personal and so intimate, that we forget how big, and powerful and great He is.  We make Him small, our own personal God, who does what we want Him to, and only when we want Him to. 

I find myself doing this.  Sometimes, it feels nice to have a small god. I can understand a small god, because a small god is just like me. Of course, he would be able to fix things I can't and he'd probably know a little more than I do, but he's much like I am.  And if I can understand my god, than I can control him, right?  And if I can control my god, then I can basically have a god serving me. 

Boy, I sure make life all about me, don't I?
[Do you find yourself doing this? Or am I alone in this one?]

And this was Packer's point:
A small god is NOT my God. 
A small god is a worthless god.  A small god is not omniscient, or omnipresent, or omnipotent.

God, the God of the Bible, is the creator of Heaven, and Earth, and the stars, and flowers, and squirrels, and humans, and atoms, and planets, and dust mites...He is the God who controls the sea, the rain, the lightning and the snow...He's the God who speaks and creates, the God who suffered and died at the hands of angry sinners to redeem them from death…
This God is not small.

This God knows me more intimately than I know myself.
I cannot control Him. 
This God is not 'safe'. 

I should fear Him.  He is far above anything I can imagine or create.

I should worship Him. He deserves more glory than I could and will ever give Him.

This God is majestic.  This is a God that I can put all my trust in because I KNOW He's bigger than all the things I can face. 
This is a God I can depend and rely on and put my faith in.  He is worthy of this.

My small god can't protect, save, redeem, heal, comfort or love me. 

A small god is selfish.

A majestic God puts me in proper place: a place of fearing, worshipping and adoring my great Savior.

I pray that God will continue to graciously reveal more of Himself to us, that we might fully fear and fully love Him, coming to know the true God as mighty and majestic. 

"Who is like you, O Lord, among the gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?" [Exodus 15:11]


2 comments:

mom said...

just love reading your posts because they challenge my thinking . .they make me think and they show me a little piece of your heart also . .which i just love. You and your heart!

Meg said...

i've finally come to the conclusion that i enjoy NOT understanding God. if i understood ALL about Him, he would not be worth my worship or my time. once i finally came to this understanding, and still need to come to this understanding time and again, it really relieved me from the pressure how having to answer all the unknowns.....yes i still educate myself about the bible and different interpretations, if you will, but let's face it, we're not going to GET God. and if someone DOES get God, then it's not the True God of the universe! love reading your blog!