God's Transcendence

Pause:

Before you start reading this devotional, take a moment to stop what you’re doing, slow down and focus on Jesus.

Pray and ask him to open your eyes to see as you read the scriptures, and to open your ears to hear as you wait on the leading of the Spirit.

Read:

Genesis 2:19: “The Lord God formed out of the ground every wild animal and every bird of the sky, and brought each to the man to see what he would call it. And whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name.”

Going Deeper:

‘The Crown’ is a Netflix series that follows the life of Queen Elizabeth II as the ‘sovereign,’ or head, of the English monarchy. The show has a bit of a ‘Forrest Gump’ feel as one often gets to know the Queen and other characters through their response to personal crises and significant cultural moments. One such event was the tragedy at the Welsh mining village of Aberfan in 1966 (pronounced Aber’van).

Aberfan had a mining operation that had produced a pile of waste as tall as a ten story building. This was several times over the legal limit and weeks of rain combined with underground mountain springs eventually turned the pile into slurry. One morning the pile broke free from the mountain and sent 4 million cubic feet of slurry towards Aberfan before it slammed into a local school that was in session. The devastation was unspeakable. The community quickly began gut-wrenching rescue efforts that included parents searching for their own children.

Word about the disaster quickly reached the Queen and she released a statement of sympathy but rebuffed two advisors who suggested she personally visit Aberfan. The show portrays her as being concerned about hindering the rescue efforts and being seen as putting on an act. Her decision backfired and she took heat for seeming to be absent or uncaring. Why? I believe it’s because humanity longs for transcendence and especially so in times of pain and suffering. What do I mean?

When we open the pages of Scripture we meet a God who is King above all. He creates, rules, and reigns. We are His subjects and He is Lord over us. He is transcendent in that He’s above us, but that doesn’t mean we can’t know Him (Rom. 1:20). Quite the opposite. In Genesis 2, God made the animals and yet the interaction between the Lord and the man is, “‘What do you think about this animal, Adam?’ ‘Um, looks like a goat?’ ‘I like it, goat it is.’” God is our transcendent King who is above us and yet is with us, inviting us into partnership with Him.

The Queen missed the mark in the immediate aftermath of Aberfan because in that moment she was “above” her people but not “with” them in their pain. The human heart desires something different. We long for a King who will visit the accident site and help us pick up the pieces. We want someone who isn’t afraid to get dirty, to enter into the mess. We cry out for one who identifies with our pain and even feels it. We need a King who will take responsibility for what is broken to make it right, even if He didn’t break it. We long for a ruler who does not hold on to his privilege but will lay it down for others. We desire someone who is not only above us but with us, especially in our pain. That’s the sort of transcendence our hearts desire.

As you may have picked up by now, when I talk about our longing for transcendence what I mean is that we long for Jesus. He’s the only King who is above all and the only one who’ll never leave you nor forsake you. His commitment to your wellbeing and mine was tested on the cross. It is no longer in question, though we all go through periods of doubt at times. His Spirit now lives in us so we’ll never be without Him. He’s inviting us into a partnership and what He has done for us, He wants to do through us.

Which is more difficult to believe right now, that He is over all or that He’s with you through it all? I want to encourage you to take a few minutes to engage with him on this today.

Pray:

Respond to God in prayer by speaking to Him about what stood out to you from this passage this morning.

Listen:

What is the Holy Spirit saying to you this morning?

Apply:

What are you going to do in response to what God is saying to you from the text and by the Spirit?