In her novel Gilead, author Marilynne Robinson lets us in on the letter an aged Anglican priest named John Ames writes to his young son. The entire narrative is actually one long—almost rambling—letter. Married in his sixties to a much younger woman, Ames finds himself in poor health and realizes he will soon be dead. As the letter’s pages turn, we hear this dying father attempting to do what every father should—help his son know his own identity, who he is.
We all need to know who we are, whether we have a dad to help us or not. The first step to knowing who we are, though, is to know who we aren’t. We are not God. And for most of our history, we humans have struggled with this point. In Eden, Adam and Eve sinned because they failed to believe there was a fundamental difference between God and them (Genesis 3:1-4). Later, when God gave Israel the Ten Commandments, He intended these directives to be the primary principles for them to understand their base identity. It’s important to note, then, that the initial four commandments centered on declaring how God was “other” than them, above them—and must be reverenced as such (Exodus 20:1-11).
We hear this truth again when Hannah rejoiced because God did the impossible. He gave the infertile woman a son. She knew she was helpless to fix herself, that her hope was based in a God who was far greater than she was (1 Samuel 2:2).
Scripture invites us to declare God as our sovereign Lord. Once we rest in the conviction that we are not God, we begin to discover in turn who we actually are—and we find joy in our dependence on God’s kindness and mercy.
More:
O Lord, there is no one like You. We have never even heard of another God like You! (1 Chronicles 17:20).
Next:
Why is it vital that you understand that you’re not God? How does recognizing that God is above you bring joy and freedom?
Soldier4Christ on March 14, 2010 at 5:57 am
I think back over my life and never have I felt more blessed and at peace than when I place my total trust and dependence on God and God alone.
bethanyF on March 14, 2010 at 7:42 pm
Praise God for His day today.
mikan14 on March 15, 2010 at 2:51 am
i have read that it’s human nature to desire to control our own life.. because of the nature of sin. but God knows more than we are, because if we have the full control of ourselves, we will be just our own destruction, our own failures! we will even hurt ourselves. But God is so merciful and compassionate, and He truly loves us. So He wants to take full charge of our lives because as Jeremiah 29:11 says, He has great plans and purposes for us, the best ones for us 🙂
Ceja8460 on March 21, 2010 at 3:26 pm
WOW!! The title alone got my attention, so I had to read it, of course. It made me ponder how often I’ve tried in my own walk to “help” God “move” in my life. In life’s many circumstances, it’s so easy to be so overcome by stressful situations that we try to figure out ways to fix them out of fear that God isn’t goi…ng to help us “soon enough” or that he’s not moving quickly enough for us. But I’m NOT God!! And God, just like our own “earthly fathers”, is our PROVIDER. Sadly, we didn’t all have the privilege of an “earthly father” that we COULD rely on so heavily in our formative years and because of that, it’s hard to reverence God that way. I see that now!! It brings great tears of joy to my heart to finally, after 12 years of salvation, come to that realization. God IS that FATHER to me!!
winn collier on March 29, 2010 at 1:42 pm
I think that today, as we walk into Holy Week, it is all the more reminder for me of what I can not do on my own – and what only God can do for me.