God Is Far Above

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:89)

I want to make it very clear that when I say "far above", I do not mean geographically or astronomically removed. It's an analogy. Because we are human beings, and live in this world, we learn to speak by analogy.

So when we say that God is far above, we're using an analogy. We're thinking about a star that's way above, way out yonder in space - but that isn't what we really mean when we think about the transcendent  God.

If you miss this point, you might as well stop reading, because this is critical to understanding what follows. When we say that God's transcendence is "farness above," we are not thinking about astronomical distances or physical magnitude. God never thinks about the size of anything, because God contains everything. He never thinks about distance, because God is everywhere; He doesn't have to go from one place to another, so distance doesn't mean anything to Him. We humans use these expressions to help us to think - they're analogies and illustrations.

Lord, even our human expressions of Your greatness amaze me. How much more wonderful must You be in all Your infinite glory! Amen

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That Cross!

"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy leaden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls." (Matthew 11:28-29)

Saint Theresa, that dear woman of God, said that the closer we are to God, the more conscience we are of how bad we are. Oh, the paradox, the mystery, the wonder of knowing that God, that transcendent One who is so high above all others that there is a gulf fixed that no one can cross, condescends to come and dwell among us. The God who is on the other side of that vast gap one day came and condensed Himself into the womb of the virgin, was born and walked among us. The baby that tramped around on the floor of Joseph's carpenter shop, that got in the way and played with the shavings, was the great God so infinitely lifted up and so transcendent that the archangels gazed upon Him. There He was!

A great gulf lies between me and the transcendent God, who is so high I cannot think of Him, so lofty that I cannot speak of Him, before whom I must fall down in trembling fear and adoration. I can't climb up to Him; I can't soar in any man-made vehicle to Him. I can't pray my way up to Him. There is only one way: "Near, near thee, my son, is that old wayside Cross." And the Cross bridges the gulf that separates God from man. That Cross!

Thank You, Father, for the miracle of the Cross, the marvelous bridge that allows me to have fellowship with You. Amen

~A. W. Tozer~