God is not a man, that He should ever lie. Nor is God a creature, that He should ever die.
God is not a vessel, that needs to be filled. Nor is He a monster, that needs to be killed.
God is not a resource, that needs to be exploited. Nor an office seeker, trying to get appointed.
God is not a riddle, waiting to be solved. Nor is He a concept, that had to be evolved.
God is not a mystery, that needs to be explained. Nor is He an insight, waiting to be gained.
God is not a feeling, wanting to be felt. Nor a trapped idea, within the bible belt.
God is not a relative, in need of some attention. Nor some grand philosophy, dripping with pretension.
God is not religion, to which we must adhere. Nor some harmless superman, that we need never fear.
Enough silly rhyming. So what is God?
God has described himself in many ways:
A creator. A king. A warrior. A lover. A husband. A nursing mother. A Hen that gathers her chicks under her wings. A healer. A terrible storm. A consuming fire. Love. Light. Bread of life. Water of life. The lifter of heads. The Truth. A lion. Peace. The Ancient of Days. The Living One. The Word. A gentle whisper…
The descriptions are almost endless; I could fill many pages, but you get the idea. There are many things that God is not, but He seems to want us to know what He is; and that seems to be whatever we need. But God is not pandering to us by trying to become whatever we need. He is not looking for votes. He is not running for anything. He is simply stating the facts. He is not trying to become anything; He simply is. The best translation of His Hebrew name is “I AM”, which he revealed to Moses. He is the ultimate reality. We like to talk about God in ways that keep us comfortable; “mystery, philosophy, religion,” etc. But what do we do with a God who describes Himself in such tangible, real, and intrusive ways? Like father, mother, food, water, word, door, life, judge, peace, comfort, joy, companion, compassion, strength, forgiveness, home? All the things that we need.
We like to complain that God has not revealed enough about Himself to us. But I think He has revealed too much; so much, in fact, that it overwhelms us, and we refuse to look at it. I have been studying Him off and on for most of my life; I still have more questions than answers. There is no end to Him, and He is new every morning. But if you backed me into a corner and demanded to know what God is? This is what I would blurt out…
God is a Spirit that you could never grasp in your hands, any more than you could grasp water, or wind, or oil. But God is also a Person that we will be able to touch; as real, and solid as you are, only more so.
God is a terrible burning Holiness, who would incinerate our very thoughts. But God is also a gentle Shepherd, who would not crush a bruised reed, or snuff out a dimly burning wick.
God is a Light so pure that the holy angels cannot look upon Him. But He is also a gigantic loving Father, striding across the landscape of our hearts, forever calling to us.
God is the Rider on the White Horse, who will bring terrifying judgement on all the evil in this world. But He is also a weeping, bleeding, dying Savior, holding out forgiveness to all who call upon Him.
I am sure of many other things but those are the big ones; they all seem so counter intuitive in some way. Even in this image from Michelangelo, we see this strange juxtaposition. It is God who is stretching out to touch the hand of man. But the hand of man seems listless and disinterested in his creator. And still, the Creator reaches out to us, straining for a touch; not for His sake, but for ours.
How could all these things be true of one Being? I do not know; but I plan on spending eternity getting to know Him.
You are welcome to join me.