Day 60 –
the summit of God's nature
The God we
proclaim to you today is not the “vague abstraction” of the
philosophers or the “insubstantial shadow” of the New Agers, but the “mighty
personality” who speaks to Job from the storm. He is the living God... He offers
something infinitely better than we could have imagined: the vision of himself
as the Creator of the universe who, ultimately, is on our
side. –FLEMING RUTLEDGE
We began this second leg of our religious journey
armed with a single truth: the existence of God. We set on a course to see
what, if anything, can be known about Him. We elected to keep as our reference
point the universe around us. By observing nature, we sought to discern in part
the nature of God. And this we did:
Gazing at
the universe’s design, we acknowledged the creativity, omnipotence, activity,
volition, sovereignty, and omniscience of God.
From the
sense of fairness within us, we concluded that He is moral, righteous, and
holy.
Humanity’s
belief in the supernatural led us to view God as revelatory, relational,
transcendent, and gracious. That this divine-human rapport came at such a high
risk and price—the entrance of evil and suffering into the world—was to us ample
evidence of its importance.
By looking
at our positive characteristics, we determined that what is good in us must
spring from His Being, that our love comes from a loving God and our sense of
justice and purpose comes from a just and purposeful God. Since He gives us
life and breath and ingrains in us so many of His traits, we also began to
speak of Him as omnipresent.
Then we
listened to personal testimonies about God from believers of all ages. Many
claimed to have in some way experienced Him. They spoke of His relevance and
transforming power. We heard them pray and marveled at the thought of the
Infinite God in fellowship with finite humans. Incredibly, some told us that
the Infinite had once become finite, God become man, so that we might know Him,
relate to Him, and follow Him as never before. They also proclaimed that this
transcendent God, who once descended to us in person, now indwells us in
spirit. He is the God beyond us, among us, within us: a God worthy of our
worship.
So where
does this leave you? Where do you stand as this leg of our journey comes to a
close? Many of you, I am sure, have not yet embraced Christianity. As you stand
on the summit of God’s nature, belief in Christ (if it ever comes) may be weeks
or months away. This is not discouraging to me. Although I would be delighted
if it happened now, leading you to faith in Christ was not this book’s purpose.
At its close, I ask you to believe only the following: (1) that the universe
makes the most sense if God exists, and (2) that the universe reveals in part
the nature of God. Nothing else thus far has been offered to you in full.
Nothing else at this time is expected of you. But also nothing less.
We will
soon embark on the next leg of our journey. Our mission will be to explore
human nature. At that time I will ask you to look at yourself in the mirror and
describe what you see. If you are still an atheist or agnostic, you will see a
child of the universe staring back at you. If you believe in God, you may see
something quite different.
Daily Quotation
Fleming Rutledge, Help My Unbelief, 25-26.
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