“How much happier you would be, how much more of you there would be, if the hammer of a higher God could smash your small cosmos.”- G. K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy
“God’s love is meteoric, his loyalty astronomic, his purpose titanic, his verdict oceanic. Yet in his largeness nothing gets lost.”- Psalm 36:5-6 (MSG)
Mark Batterson continues Chapter 2 of Whisper as he observes that we tend to think of God’s voice from our perspective. Since the human voice has one basic purpose, verbal communication, we tend to view the purpose of God’s voice in the same way. Yet, God uses His voice for much more. While God uses His voice to speak, He also uses that voice to “heal and reveal, convict and create, guide and grace.”
Furthermore, Pastor Batterson notes, God’s ability to speak far surpasses our audible range. For everything we see today, God once spoke into existence. Therefore, His voice surrounds us, all the time! Mark adds:
“We have a hard time thinking of God in anything other than four dimensions, because that’s all we’ve ever known. And we try to create God in our image rather than allowing Him to create us in His. What we end up with is a god, lowercase g, who walks and talks an awful lot like us.”
Yes, God’s bigger than big – transcendent. But, left by its lonesome, that seems somewhat intimidating. However, Mark points out, God’s bigness has a theological counterbalance – His imminence. In other words, God’s also closer than close. Therefore, Mark concludes:
“God is great not just because nothing is too big; God is great because nothing is too small. God doesn’t just know you by name; He has a unique name for you. And He speaks a language that is unique to you.”
Today’s question: How has the hammer of a higher God smashed your small cosmos? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “Appreciative inquiry – replicating what’s right”
