transcendence – Hope and Passion Ministries

God is asking you, “To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” (Isaiah 40:25, NIV) God provokes us to consider just how influential we deem to be situations, people, and powers. God lovingly but firmly confronts us with the possibility that we are living as though He has a rival.

Do we fear an employer’s attitude or decision? Do we stay awake at night wondering how a financial situation will affect us? Are we uncomfortable because we think some power of Satan is intending to wreak havoc in our life? Are we debilitated by dread of how a health issue will impact our existence? Do we spend an inordinate amount of time wondering what an unknown circumstance may bring? If so, then we are living as though that situation, person, or power can go to battle against God’s will for our life and perhaps win! In other words, we are affirming that God Almighty has an equal – at the very least. Maybe we are living as though He has a superior.

In fact, God stands sovereign over all creation. Every human, every power, and every state of affairs is dependent on Him for existence. Nothing stands a chance against God. When we live in fear or distress of situations, authorities, or people; we are living in idolatry. The first commandment God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai is “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3, NASB). Although a well-known requirement, I sadly believe many of us transgress this law in our intellect and heart rather regularly. When we dedicate time, thoughts, and passion to the dread of anything in life – rather than to an honest reverence to God – we are designing an equivalent for God in our own mind. We are committing idolatry.

The antithesis to this sinful, destructive line of thinking is a focus on both the greatness and intimacy of God. Isaiah 40:26 (NIV) goes on to say, ” Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.” He is grand enough to have created the billions and billions of stars and the vast expanse in which they reside, but tender enough to know each one by name and ensure each is sustained on a moment-by-moment basis just as it should be. If God does this for giant, burning balls of hydrogen and helium; what does He do for living people with souls, made in His own image? On this illustration given in God’s Word we ought to depend in order to avoid the sin of idolatry.

God is transcendent – above and beyond us and our understanding, and wholly self-sustaining. However, God is also immanent – very close to His creation. His greatness does not preclude His intimate care! Hallelujah! The most wonderful, infinite, inexplicable, and Creator God knows my name and every circumstance that touches my life. For that reason, I should make none His equal.

Let us aim to obey God by putting Him above all else in thought, devotion, time, and respect. May we realize He is to have no competitor when it comes to that about which we ponder, obsess, believe, treasure, work toward, dream, and expend time and energy; for, the answer to the question, “Who is like Him?” is “No one!”

*For more reading about God’s transcendence and immanence, see Acts 17:24-28.

How easy it is to convince ourselves we are right. How often we try to persuade our hearts that we are the people we ought to be. If each human being were the one responsible for determining right and wrong for himself or herself, we would be in a mess most miserable.

I think of times when I have worked hard to tell myself that I was doing the right thing. What I really longed for was an excuse – a way to get out of doing the difficult work of righteousness and justice. And every single time I refuse to do right – whether justified in my own mind or not – someone somewhere gets hurt. The ripple effect of unrighteousness is occasionally obvious and at times hidden. It may be ten or twenty or one hundred people down the line from my injustice that finally feel the pain of that selfishness. One thing is for sure, when we do not live justly, pain will ensue. How do I know? I see it experientially in everyday living, and God has made it clear in His Word that His way of righteousness is how things were meant to be. Rebellion against the Creator’s way always brings heartbreak, for He is the Designer of how things ought to be.

Proverbs 21:2 makes clear that though we may convince ourselves we are right, God Almighty weighs our hearts. There is a transcendent God who sees us for who we really are. He is not swayed by our persuasive rhetoric and excessive pride. He knows what we are really about. His assessment comes from the outside – from the unbiased perspective of perfection – and He will assess rightly.

This transcendent God has said in Proverbs 21:3 that “to do righteousness and justice is desired by the Lord more than sacrifice.” Wow. The offering of sacrifice in the Old Testament was the heart of the “church” in that day. Is God implying that the action of doing right is more important than pretentious church activity? Remember the context is the deception of one’s own heart for selfish reasons. Yes, it is more important to actually do right as God has commanded than to try to feel right by performing outward “religious” actions that we think will compensate for our disobedience.

My friends, nothing will compensate for a heart that is bent to be unjust through its own self-deception except for one thing: the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The problem is that we have to actually quit trying to convince ourselves we are right long enough to admit we are a mess at the core, so that we can accept Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf.

Those who know the Lord Jesus Christ will do well to actually go about doing the hard stuff of righteousness and justice. We must quit playing the religious angle to excuse our refusal to hunker down and do right.

It can be difficult to live with integrity. We must tell the truth, not allow the innocent to suffer if we can help, intervene when it is within our sphere of influence to correct injustice, protect others though it cost us our strength, work with those who have been pummeled by life though we do not see reward just yet, expose wicked plans that they may be thwarted, stand up for the ones who have not a voice to be heard, and love even when it hurts.

We must do more than think about our own hearts. We must yield them to our transcendent God for His inspection. We should allow His Holy Spirit to “weigh our hearts” to prevent self-deception and its consequent unrighteousness.

For, to actually do the formidable work of righteousness and justice is desired by the Lord more than sacrifice.

“Every man’s way is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the hearts. To do righteousness and justice is desired by the LORD more than sacrifice.” – Proverbs 21:2-3

Tag: transcendence

What the Stars CAN Tell Us

Self-Deception vs. Doing Right