“Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?” Isaiah 40:21 ESV
Reflection: what do you compare God to?
Seems to me as we experience everything in reference to something else. We might say we have had a good day. But, doesn’t that mean we have to then know what a bad day is? We call someone young, but that is clearly in reference to what we consider old. We say someone is wise, which means we know what unwise is. But many of the references we have are not the same for two people. One person might say a 2000 square foot house is huge because they have only seen and lived in an apartment, while others that have lived in much larger houses say that is a small house. Clearly neither is wrong, their reference is based on their experience. For one person walking 100 feet is far, while for another they would have to walk 10 miles to consider it far. And when you start thinking about your own life, each of us have made all these references to everything we do, what we experience, based on either what we have been told, seen, or experienced ourselves. Question is,
do we also have a reference for God, how we think of and experience God?
Some go to a church to learn who God is, looking at how magnificent the building is. They might approach the church altar, displaying a cross with an impressive carving of the crucified Christ, which becomes their reference of God. Others see God as the risen and living Lord Jesus Christ, looking at an empty tomb. Some just look at God as a judge, an angry father figure, waiting for them to mess up so that he can punish them. And, we have countless denominations who all claim they know God, but have a variation of how they present who God is. For some, He is a money maker; the more you put in the more you get back. For some, God is all love, and He loves everyone regardless of how they live and what they do. For others, He is a set of rules to strictly follow if you want to be part of the church. For many, God is unapproachable by man, they need a priest to speak on their behalf.
Who has the right reference?
Trying to understand who God is, to put Him into a frame that we can comprehend, and control in a way, is not new for man. We read from Isaiah “To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? An idol! A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains. He who is too impoverished for an offering chooses wood that will not rot; he seeks out a skillful craftsman to set up an idol that will not move.” Isaiah 40:18-20 ESV. Making figures, carvings, even buildings has been going on since the beginning of time. But God says “Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to dwell in; who brings princes to nothing, and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.” Isaiah 40:21-23 ESV
The Lord says about Himself through Isaiah “To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: who created these? He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of his might and because he is strong in power, not one is missing. Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God”?
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:25-31 ESV
Let’s check ourselves, if our reference of God is man-made, or if it is based on what God says of Himself. He is so much greater than we can fathom. Spend some time today in nature and in His word, and let Him show you a bit more about who He is.
