The Sublime And Hidden Ways of God

This morning as I sat down to pray a theme of reflection popped into my head - the unusual way God has chosen to reveal Himself.  I found myself thinking the "Sublime and Hidden Ways of God".  I don't usually get a title for my reflection before starting, so this should be interesting.

The first thing I had to do was look up the definition of sublime, as it is not a word we use very often.  Websters dictionary defines it as follows:

1 a : lofty, grand, or exalted in thought, expression, or manner
b : of outstanding spiritual, intellectual, or moral worth
c : tending to inspire awe usually because of elevated quality (as of beauty, nobility, or grandeur) or transcendent excellence

The truth is that God's revelation in our world has always been both sublime, as defined above, and hidden at the same time.  It is such an unexpected reality that many people stumble over this truth, because it makes no sense to us as humans.  A couple of days ago I was reflecting on Jesus triumphant entry in Jerusalem, and how what followed made no sense to His followers, because they couldn't grasp the reality of what Jesus and the Father were about, it made no sense in human logic.

In scripture there is the theme of the stumbling block, and Paul speaks about this in his first letter to the 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 NIV:

[18] "For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. [19] For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”

[20] Where is the wise person? Where is the teacher of the law? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? [21] For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. [22] Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, [23] but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, [24] but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. [25] For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength."

That God would choose to reveal His salvation through Jesus, not as a conquering hero, or a Hercules-like demi-god, but rather as the Son of God, who emptied Himself and became fully man, and then allowed Himself to be beaten, scourged and crucified, makes no sense to our human way of thinking!   Who would have expected the God of the Universe, the creator of all things (John1:3), to open a path to eternal salvation through His own suffering?   John actually spends the first bit of His Gospel writing about this, and while I consider it a beautiful and concise description of this unusual realty, for many it is foolishness.

Jesus spoke about the hidden treasure (Matt 13:44), the wide and narrow path (Matt 7:13-14), the sower and the seed (Matt 13:3-8), the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32), (to name just a few) and all of these are revealing the nature of the Kingdom, and the way God works, and in each there something that makes us go, Huh?  In each case, Jesus reveals what the Kingdom is like, and it isn't what we thought. 

Our thinking goes something like this:

If God is so great and He is all powerful, why would He hide this reality like treasure buried in a field?  Wouldn't He come in guns blazing and destroy all His enemies?

If God wants all people saved, why would He talk about the path to destruction being wide, and the path to salvation being narrow, and one that few find?

If God's word is supposed to lead us to Him, why would He allow the cares of this world, distractions or anything else to keep us from hearing and following?

If God was all powerful and all-knowing why would He welcome back someone who had taken everything and wasted it on sinful behavior?

All good man-thinking questions.  All the kind of thinking that causes well meaning, hard-thinking people to stumble.  Paul had it right, it seems foolishness.

I think for me it all goes back to what I think is one of the most surprising bit in scripture, where God reveals Himself to Moses.  God describes Himself, and it is not the type of description we would expect from the God who created the universe.  Here is what He said - Exodus 34:6-7 NIV:

[6] And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, [7] maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”

If we list them in order we have the following list of God's primary characteristics:

Compassionate
Gracious
Slow to Anger
Abounding in Love
Abounding in Faithfulness
Maintaining Love
Forgiveness for wickedness, rebellion and sin
Just (summarizing the last point)

Where is the power and might, the awesomeness, the authority and majesty? 

God apparently doesn't consider those key characteristics, and that is our stumbling block!  In our humanness we apparently value the wrong things.  We are drawn to the rich, beautiful and powerful.  We think that strength and might are more valuable than humility and gentleness.  We tend to choose force of might over love and affection when we think of the ones we respect, admire and emulate.

God, is all of those things, and yet chooses to reveal Himself as compassionate and gracious, abounding in Love!  He had no need to remind Himself or others of His might and power and instead values compassion, mercy and love.  He is fully capable of anything, and yet chooses to relate to us, as His sons and daughters whom He loves beyond fathoming.  He is exactly what man would not think He is like!

There is much I could reflect upon, for almost all of scripture paints this picture of God, great and powerful, yet choosing to reveal Himself to the lowly and weak.  Not only does He reveal Himself to the lowly and weak, but then He loves them and serves them and leads them by gentle ways!  He commands us to love one another as He loves us (John 13:34) and encourages us to let this love be that which differentiates us from others.  Love is the greatest command, and of greatest value (1 Cor 13: 13).

Oh that we would not stumble over a God who loves, because we want a God of Power!

Lord, help us to see that You are the greatest, the highest,and the most magnificent, precisely because You are the most merciful, compassionate, gracious and loving individual in all the universe!

Amen and Amen!