Sunday, January 11, 2009

Like a paper airplane....


I love reading Max Lucado books; I enjoy the way he uses metaphors and parallels to make biblical concepts relevant, interesting, and applicable. The book I was reading this morning is his book "It's Not About Me", and I found myself in Chapter 4, which talks about how God is "Holy Different" from us.


Here's what Mr. Lucado had to say:


On the one occasion seraphim appear in Scripture (Isaiah 6:2-5), they endlessly trilogize the same word. "Holy holy holy is the LORD Almighty" (NIV). Repetition, in Hebrew, performs the work of our highlighter. A tool of emphasis. God, proclaims the six-winged angels, is not holy. He is not holy, holy. He is holy, holy, holy..... God's holiness commands headline attention.


He then goes on to say:


The Hebrew word for holy is 'qadosh', which means cut off, or separate. Holiness, then, speaks of the "otherness" of God. His total uniqueness. Everything about God is different from the world he has made.


What you are to a paper airplane, God is to you. Take a sheet of paper and make one. Contrast yourself with your creation. Challenge it to a spelling contest. Who will win? Dare it to a race around the block. Who is faster? Invite the airplane to a game of one-on-one basketball. Will you not dominate the court? And well you should. The thing has no brainwaves, no pulse, it exists only because you formed it and flies only when someone throws it. Multiply the contrasts between you and the airplane by infinity. and you will begin to catch a glimpse of the disparity between God and us.


Heady stuff here....


I've thought about and struggled with this before, trying to reconcile two disparate concepts. That while we are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26), we are so clearly NOT the equal of God (Isaiah 40:25). And I've never seen an analogy like the paper airplane used before. I am not a shrunk-down, reduced version of God, a Mini-Me of God, if you will. Everything about God is different from me, not just magnifed from me. I am the paper airplane, formed by His power and will, lifeless and powerless on my own, and God is, well He is God. The chasm between what I am and what God is, is infinite. But does this mean that God is unknowable??? The Bible says otherwise. Jesus himself said to his disciples "If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on you do know him and have seen him", John 14:7. And Romans 1:20 tells us that since the creation of the world God's eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made. I'm still processing these thoughts...

Blessings,

Adrienne





3 comments:

His grace is sufficient. said...

Thanks for your post this morning. I love Max Lucado's books too. This was really good.
Linda

Cindy said...

Thanks for making me think. I had never thought about like this.

Lora said...

Our small group is currently going through his Facing Your Giants book. And when the teens were young, I loved his children's books - well, I still do! Enjoy your study!