Too small
For many of us, most of us, our God is too small.
Not that God Himself actually is too small.
But our concept of God? The version of God that we have created for ourselves?
Whether we have drifted into worshipping some lesser version of God that did miracles back in Bible times. But not today.
Or treat God like an impersonal life force that makes existence possible. But doesn’t do much of anything else.
Or any other of the myriad of ways that we create limited, weak versions of God. Small enough that we can put whatever’s left in a box of our own design.
But whatever way we shrink God down, what we end up with isn’t God.
If we’ve got God down to something that we can control, something that we’re comfortable with, then what we’re dealing with? Isn’t God.
The truth about God? It’s in today’s Gospel.
From the mouth of a leper comes one of the deepest understandings of God in the Bible.
In six words. “Lord, if you will, you can.”
To unpack, God is the God who can. Whatever it is. God can.
And God will. Whatever it is.
God will. In God’s perfect judgment. And in God’s good time.
None of which may have anything to do with our ideas of what God should do.
Which is why J.B. Phillips nailed it when he said,
“God will inevitably disappoint the man who is attempting to use God as a convenience, a prop, or for his own plans. God has never been known to disappoint the man who sincerely wants to co-operate with God’s own purpose.”
Today’s Reading
