Recently, I viewed a Youtube video of a preacher sounding off about
how some ministers of the Gospel want to make God into a people-needing wuss, which of course He is NOT. I only saw a portion of the sermon (that which was on Youtube) and can’t speak to the whole of the text, but I think the man had a problem with the way God was portrayed in the novel, The Shack. This brought to mind reviews I’d seen of the book that also disliked it, feeling it made God look small. Okay, I admit, I haven’t read the Shack, so I can’t respond to the criticism of whether or not the picture of God is accurate. However, given that my series this month is entitled “The Great and the Small,” and it IS Christmas season, I just wanted to speak to the idea of God being “small.”
I can see you now, hackles up. “Don’t call the Creator of the Universe small,” you cry, and threaten to navigate away from my blog. So I won’t do that. But—think about this now—He can be small …
If.
He.
Wants.
He’s that powerful!
God is the alpha, the omega, the beginning and the end. The Creator of All Things. Not just you and me, folks. I said All Things. And yet, He chose to become God With Us, Emmanuel. He chose to be born of a virgin in a stable, which by the way, was really a dung-filled cave. He chose to be laid in a manger--aka. a feeding trough—by a lowly carpenter and his wife.
A man once suggested to me that what Jesus did on the cross was really not that big of a deal, because, after all, he was God. I submit to you the reverse. That’s what made it so extraordinary! Think about it. Who would be most troubled by sudden poverty? One who has lived it all his life, or one who has had everything he’s ever needed and suddenly is bereft of these. God could have chosen to leave it, and yet He did not. God did not NEED to be a poor carpenter. God did not NEED to be mocked, harassed, beaten and put to death. WE needed Him to be those things. And so He did them. He became small. Not because He needed us, but because we needed Him. His occasional “smallness” is not about His lack of power. It is about the depth and intimacy of His love.
So yes, God is great … and small. He is all in all. He is sculptor of the walls of water that allowed the Hebrews to escape Pharaoh. And He is the still, small voice that speaks to us every day. He is Wonderful, Counselor, Teacher and Father. The alpha, omega, beginning and end!
He is God!
Other posts in this series:
The Great and the Small--How One Small Girl Inspired a Ministry of Access
The Great and the Small--The Man Who Inspired a Congregation
The Great and the Small--The Button Lady
Connie, what an interesting blog segment... and so encouraging. I agree, God is the EVERYTHING we need; we people are not the everything that He needs.
ReplyDeleteI read THE SHACK and fail to understand why people either are offended by it or think it's holy. It's fiction!! In good fiction there is often a take-away value for readers, but by and large fiction is meant to entertain. THE SHACK was an interesting, entertaining read. But, it didn't change my faith. Perhaps for the non-believer it may have made he or she curious and then I hope that person would be moved to seek out scripture-based guidance. Just my two cents.