Seeing in a Different Light

"Every possible statement that can be made about God expresses some possession or virtue of God, rather than God Himself. The conception of God as He is can only be grasped in one way—by thinking of Him as a Being whose attributes and greatness are beyond our powers of understanding, or even of thought." ~Novatian

When the sun rises or sets we get a glimpse of light and colour as its rays filter through the clouds and atmosphere. We would say we "saw the sun set." But we didn't. We saw aspects of the sun, not the sun itself. We all know that if we saw the sun, we would never see again.

One of the snares most common to humankind is pride. It shows itself blatantly through bragging, belittling retorts, or physical snubs. It shows itself subtly through false-humility, refusal to accept a kindness or gift, or avoidance of a certain person or people.

Pride also subtly creeps in puffing us up with our own knowledge. This is perhaps the most dangerous rearing of pride's ugly head.

Satan's downfall was pride. He said: "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High."

Where did Satan go wrong? He assumed he knew the Most High. He who masquerades as an angel of light thought that the light equaled the sun. If he had truly known Yahweh, he would have also known he could not compete.

What about our pride? Do we think, as Christians especially, that we can describe God? Do we feel the necessity to defend His reputation to one who's grieving or hurt?

It may seem so easy to enlighten others until our own world falls apart. Then, lest we cling to Him, we may fall away because He no longer fits our understanding of a "loving God." Tragedy is personal.

One parent who lost a daughter eight years ago shares it this way:

If the whole thing comes crashing down because my daughter died? That makes me the center of the universe. This is something that happened in our lives, and it’s hard, but it’s still part of God’s plan.

Being able to accept the mystery of God is a maturing process. Our desire to be able to explain God is not necessarily good. To long to know God and pursue knowing Him is commendable. To want to define God, however, is a desire to defang the Lion of Judah, render Him helpless to harm us or those we love, make Him safe.

Mrs Beaver: "[I]f there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking they're either braver than most or else just silly."

"Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy.

"Safe?" said Mr Beaver; "don't you hear what Mrs Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you." (The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Chapter 8)

Yahweh is so much bigger than we can comprehend. When we believe we "know God," in the complete sense of knowing Him, we enter the danger of pride. God is always surprising. We need to foster that sense of wonder and discovery. We must always be learning about Him, talking to Him, reading His Word.

"Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." (1 Corinthians 13:12)

The more we grow in our faith, the more we will realize how much there is to know about God. He becomes like the "Lover" in the Song of Solomon. Our hearts ache for Him, and we delight to pursue and be pursued by the One we love; ever seeking a glimpse of His shadow.

The immature see one aspect of God and think He's complete. The mature realize that three pounds of brain is not capable of knowing God. We grasp whatever "possession or virtue of God" we can understand and surrender in trust what is beyond us; ever pursuing the sweet mystery of His love.