It's easy enough to have a God-in-the-box mentality. Just because we had a special encounter with Him in a certain place doesn't mean that's the only place where such things can happen.
"But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built!" (1 Kings 8:27)
King Solomon, on the occasion of the dedication of a great temple built for Almighty God, uttered words we do well to always consider. While God chooses to bless certain times and places with a dynamic display of His presence, He cannot be limited by such. He is the God who supersedes all creation; how then is it possible than anything created could ever begin to contain Him?
Note how Solomon addressed the Almighty: "O LORD, the God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing lovingkindness to Your servants who walk before You with all their heart" (1 Kings 8:23). The God who transcends place and time is unequalled in heaven and earth; He is the God of covenant promise toward those whose wholehearted lifestyle is in harmony with Him.
The times and places where I encounter my Father give me a perspective of Him, but these provide me with only the roughest sketch of the God I cannot begin to picture in totality. I don't know the half of it ... or thousandth of it ... or millionth ... well; you get the idea. He is immensely larger than the self-imposed box I contain Him in.
Someone once stated, "Your God is too small!" I would have to agree; MY God is too small. However, the God I can only fractionally glimpse this side of the Kingdom is immensely more than I can think or imagine. Fortunately, His Son allows me - and you - to see Him with greater clarity: "He who has seen Me has seen the Father " (John 14:9) His uniquely created Son puts a face on the Father that we could never see in any other way.
Any time I can have the "box" expanded in my perception of the Father, my faith and love for Him grows. I'm thankful for words such as Solomon's in 1 Kings 8 that remind me there is far more to discover about the God I already love and an wowed by. Further revelation can only deepen these things. May our God-horizon be significantly expanded today through our walk with His Son.
Steve
©Steve Taylor, 2011
"But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built!" (1 Kings 8:27)
King Solomon, on the occasion of the dedication of a great temple built for Almighty God, uttered words we do well to always consider. While God chooses to bless certain times and places with a dynamic display of His presence, He cannot be limited by such. He is the God who supersedes all creation; how then is it possible than anything created could ever begin to contain Him?
Note how Solomon addressed the Almighty: "O LORD, the God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing lovingkindness to Your servants who walk before You with all their heart" (1 Kings 8:23). The God who transcends place and time is unequalled in heaven and earth; He is the God of covenant promise toward those whose wholehearted lifestyle is in harmony with Him.
The times and places where I encounter my Father give me a perspective of Him, but these provide me with only the roughest sketch of the God I cannot begin to picture in totality. I don't know the half of it ... or thousandth of it ... or millionth ... well; you get the idea. He is immensely larger than the self-imposed box I contain Him in.
Someone once stated, "Your God is too small!" I would have to agree; MY God is too small. However, the God I can only fractionally glimpse this side of the Kingdom is immensely more than I can think or imagine. Fortunately, His Son allows me - and you - to see Him with greater clarity: "He who has seen Me has seen the Father " (John 14:9) His uniquely created Son puts a face on the Father that we could never see in any other way.
Any time I can have the "box" expanded in my perception of the Father, my faith and love for Him grows. I'm thankful for words such as Solomon's in 1 Kings 8 that remind me there is far more to discover about the God I already love and an wowed by. Further revelation can only deepen these things. May our God-horizon be significantly expanded today through our walk with His Son.
Steve
©Steve Taylor, 2011
posted by steve @ 9:11 AM
1 Comments:
At 12:13 AM,
Patrick said…
I can never understand this 'God in a box' mentality. People also want to pretend God and Jesus are only in a church building- and that's where people leave them- what a sad shame ! This mentality is common, but it makes no sense. How can someone be alive and NOT constantly see God's power in everything- all around us ? His masterful work is in the sky, the waters, in all of our friends and family, throughout the great creation He made for us- in all of its amazing forms (- I just saw yesterday that humanity's great scientists just 'discovered' another NEW type of chameleon - one of my favorite animals; beautiful and amazing). God and His work is just everywhere. It's amazing how GREAT our God is, Perfect in every way. We need to do ALL we can constantly- throughout our entire short lifetime to show our love and devotion to Him ! Who's with me ?
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