On Power

The perspective on Grace continues to grow.

Today I realized how necessary both sides of God's character are.  A powerful God without grace would leave us without hope.  A graceful God without power would leave us just as hopeless.

God's willingness to associate with us should be the only very thin thing that keeps us from cowering in terror at the very idea of Him.  Any god weaker than that isn't a powerful enough god.

But being around that kind of power doesn't sit well with us.  It's frekin scary.  And we want comfort.  So we create smaller gods that we can manipulate.  Powerful enough to make us happy, but not so powerful that we need fear them.  Money, attractiveness, approval, food...all means to satisfaction that we feel we can control.  Or maybe even just a PG-13 version of the true God...the Buddy Christ that encourages us when we're feeling blue, but wouldn't dare ask us to change our lives.

Nope.  The real God smites.  The real God judges.  He can do whatever He wants with us.  He tells us what to do.  And He has power.  Power enough to create and sustain everything we know.  Power to give us true peace and contentment - traits that come almost instantaneously when we realize that the all-powerful God of the universe is on our side.