We were talking about God the other day. Someone said God had a personality, i.e., he became angry, he loved, and so on. Then someone else said that God was a "spirit" and did not occupy time and space.
But, we want a God who looks like us, not a God who is a wind or a cloud. We want a God with eyes and a nose and ears.
When you meet a new friend, you want to know who they are and where they live. Hi, my name is Bill and I live in Phoenix. That statement identifies the person and tells you something about Bill. And, you know what - I want to know who God is and where he lives. But, I can't really know God or where he lives except in a very limited sense and only as He permits.
For instance, take the statement that "God created the heavens and the earth." It is generally accepted that the creation event was the "Big Bang," that is - everything that exists was created from an extremely small amount of nothing (or something) in an instant of time and the universe has been exploding outwards ever since, for 15 billion or so light years say many.
So, where did God live before the Big Bang? And today, does he live inside the universe, or does he live outside the edge of the expanding universe where nothing exists, and how can anything live "outside" the universe anyway?
And, if God is really a personality (loves, hates, has moral values) and is also a "spirit," how in the world does he become three different personalities, and how can anybody worship a spirit anyway?
Oh, I know that the Bible says that God walked with Adam, that he talked with Abraham, and that he visited Moses in a tent. But, for most of us, God just does not have a name or a mailing address where we can find him. He is like the great cosmic eye in the sky that might, or might not, exist and affect our lives.
But then God invaded history. Jesus came to live with us. Miracle of all miracles, God incarnate, Emmanuel, God with us. The Creator through whom the world was formed joined his creation. Whether he came from the edge of the universe, or from the smallest atom, or from beyond time itself, God the Father sent "his only begotten Son" into our time and space. God had a name, and a pretty common name at that. The angel said, "You shall call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins." And, God had an address: a specific stable at a particular Inn in a real town called Bethlehem. For 33 years people could visit God! They could touch him, talk to him, eat with him, walk with him, pray with him, and kill him.
Now, I don't have the foggiest idea how God did all of that. I don't know much about God before Jesus came, but I know a lot more about him since Jesus came. I have 33 years of a living, breathing, loving Savior to look at. And I know his name, and I know where he lived, and I know that wherever he went, he is coming back after a bit to get me so I can see where he lives and I can live with him too.
Even so come, Lord Jesus. I am ready to go home!
But, we want a God who looks like us, not a God who is a wind or a cloud. We want a God with eyes and a nose and ears.
When you meet a new friend, you want to know who they are and where they live. Hi, my name is Bill and I live in Phoenix. That statement identifies the person and tells you something about Bill. And, you know what - I want to know who God is and where he lives. But, I can't really know God or where he lives except in a very limited sense and only as He permits.
For instance, take the statement that "God created the heavens and the earth." It is generally accepted that the creation event was the "Big Bang," that is - everything that exists was created from an extremely small amount of nothing (or something) in an instant of time and the universe has been exploding outwards ever since, for 15 billion or so light years say many.
So, where did God live before the Big Bang? And today, does he live inside the universe, or does he live outside the edge of the expanding universe where nothing exists, and how can anything live "outside" the universe anyway?
And, if God is really a personality (loves, hates, has moral values) and is also a "spirit," how in the world does he become three different personalities, and how can anybody worship a spirit anyway?
Oh, I know that the Bible says that God walked with Adam, that he talked with Abraham, and that he visited Moses in a tent. But, for most of us, God just does not have a name or a mailing address where we can find him. He is like the great cosmic eye in the sky that might, or might not, exist and affect our lives.
But then God invaded history. Jesus came to live with us. Miracle of all miracles, God incarnate, Emmanuel, God with us. The Creator through whom the world was formed joined his creation. Whether he came from the edge of the universe, or from the smallest atom, or from beyond time itself, God the Father sent "his only begotten Son" into our time and space. God had a name, and a pretty common name at that. The angel said, "You shall call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins." And, God had an address: a specific stable at a particular Inn in a real town called Bethlehem. For 33 years people could visit God! They could touch him, talk to him, eat with him, walk with him, pray with him, and kill him.
Now, I don't have the foggiest idea how God did all of that. I don't know much about God before Jesus came, but I know a lot more about him since Jesus came. I have 33 years of a living, breathing, loving Savior to look at. And I know his name, and I know where he lived, and I know that wherever he went, he is coming back after a bit to get me so I can see where he lives and I can live with him too.
Even so come, Lord Jesus. I am ready to go home!
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