I recently asked my Sunday School class to give me words to describe God. I wrote them all down on a white board while the adjectives came flowing in. And there were a lot of adjectives. Words like “good”, “loving”, “great”, and “kind” were there. And then we had the “all-knowing”, “all-powerful” language.
When we were done we were able to put all of those descriptors into one of two groups: ones that had to do with love and ones that had to do with power.
I then explained a recent epiphany of mine. All of the bible, even all of human history really can be described in broad terms as people trying to get closer to God.
In the church this is not hard to see. Just look at some popular hymns out there. “Just a Closer Walk With Thee,” for example. Or how about “Nearer My God to Thee?” Notice the language in the hymn “Draw Me Nearer.”
I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy voice,
And it told Thy love to me;
But I long to rise in the arms of faith,
And be closer drawn to Thee.
Refrain:
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
To the cross where Thou hast died;
Draw me nearer, nearer, nearer, blessed Lord,
To Thy precious, bleeding side.
People want to get closer to God. But I think a lot of them disagree on just how to do it. One of the biggest ways I have noticed is that people try to be like God. Maybe if we pattern ourselves after our creator then that would do the trick. “If we are going to be like God then we must try to be like what we think God is,” people seem to say. But which way should we emulate God? Should we do it with love, or with power? All throughout history there are examples of people trying to do it with power. Here is one from Genesis:
Genesis 11:1-4
1 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”
Or what about Pharaoh, or Caesar? They both loved power claimed to have a connection with the divine because of it. Even Jesus gets tempted by this notion.
Matthew 4:1-3
4 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a] by the devil. 2 After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
The message here is clear: if you are going to be like God, then you have to have power.
But there is another description for God here, isn’t there?
What if we tried to be closer to God by being more loving?
Matthew 25:31-40
4 “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
I have read that passage for years and I don’t think I ever made this particular connection. We are most like God when we show the love that God has for us. When we exhibit kindness, and generosity, and sacrifice, we draw nearer and nearer to our creator. Helping others also gives us our own health benefits. Our stress goes down. Our blood pressure decreases. Our mental health gets better. It is as if we were made for this. To be like God. To be the love of God in action.
Love over power. Isn’t that what it is all about?
God Bless