Wednesday, July 19, 2006

 

God is Un-Tameable

In the 60s many people bantered around the foolish slogan: “God is dead.” But, in spite of America’s cultural revolution, God just kept on being God. This cultural blunder was akin to many humanistic movements or dictatorships that have proclaimed the One True God to be impotent, such as Hitler’s regime, the Roman Empire or the kingdoms of the Pharoahs. Countless civilizations have risen to regional or world domination, proclaimed themselves to be all- powerful, and then collapsed. They are gone and God remains. God is unkillable.

God is also untameable. I am reminded of the times I have stood before the cage of a lion, gawking and commenting on the majesty, size and beauty of the beast. This “king of the jungle” is, at the same time, beautiful and terrible. Seeing him elicits the urge to run your fingers through his mane, yet a quick survey of his powerful paws and razor sharp claws causes all tenderness to evaporate, and suddenly there is an urge to run. It is then that I appreciate the bars that separate me from this king.

The lion inspires two analogies that depict God:

1. The Bible refers to Jesus Christ as “The Lion of the tribe of Judah.” When the entirety of scripture is taken into account one’s view of God must account for his beauty and his terror; his mercy and his judgment.

Scripture refers to God as: Prince of peace, Counselor, Provider, Savior, Comforter, Gentle Shepherd, Healer, Deliverer, Rose of Sharon and Lily of the valley, to name of few. He is called a God of mercy and is describes as being faithful, longsuffering and patient. But the same Bible calls him: Immutable, Master, the Almighty, the Rock, the Omnipotent One, the Judge, and a Consuming Fire. He is described as terrible, jealous, strong and fearful.

Like a strong man who can crush a can with his bare hand and then gently hold his newborn, God is both gentle and mighty. The Apostle Paul described him like this: “Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off “ (Romans 11:22 KJV)

2. The second analogy inspired by the lion has to do with taming. Mankind has been able to tame or protect himself from every creature on earth. For example, although elephants kill ten times as many people as sharks do each year, we will often set our toddlers atop an elephant at the zoo and take pictures as they enjoy a short ride. We can do that because this massive land animal has been tamed. Untamed dogs can kill humans, but tamed dogs become our best friends.

In an effort to make life feel safer, it is our natural tendency to want to tame life. Without meaning to, we often attempt to tame life by trying to tame God. We do this by inventing our own ideas about who God is. Rather than accepting God in all of his power and glory, we relegate him to our man-made philosophies. Instead of embracing the morals and values He set forth in the Bible, we invent dumbed-down rules. Rather than accepting God’s way of salvation we concoct cheaper versions, convincing ourselves that if enough of us buy into the altered version of reality God will be forced to comply.

For example, since it is uncomfortable to think there would actually be a hell, many people have chosen to invent a God who wouldn’t let anyone go to hell. Instead of accepting the fact that God flooded the earth in judgment, the story of Noah is often explained away as a myth. These are feeble attempts to tame God so that he is understandable and manageable. The truth is that God’s nature and His laws cannot be changed by human engineering. Adultery will be wrong even if every country in the world makes it legal. Lying will be wrong even if it is politically correct and financially advantageous. God is the Tamer and He will not be tamed.

Herein lies the problem: Man has been given the role of taming animals, but God is enthroned as King of kings and Lord of lords. We are authorized to tame our puppy, but it is He who should tame our souls. The Psalmist caught the essence of this when he wrote: “We all arrive at your doorstep sooner or later, loaded with guilt, Our sins too much for us— but you get rid of them once and for all. Blessed are the chosen! Blessed the guest at home in your place! We expect our fill of good things in your house, your heavenly manse. All your salvation wonders are on display in your trophy room. Earth- Tamer, Ocean-Pourer, Mountain-Maker, Hill-Dresser, Muzzler of sea storm and wave crash, of mobs in noisy riot— Far and wide they'll come to a stop, they'll stare in awe, in wonder. Dawn and dusk take turns calling, ‘Come and worship.’ " (Psalm 65 MSG)

You have heard the sad stories of lions that mall their tamers, dogs who turn on their masters and elephants who crush their caretakers. Whenever the tamee becomes the tamer, tragedy ensues. God is the only Being in the universe that does not need taming. He is not a god of our making; we are creatures of His making. He cannot be killed and he will not be tamed. That, in fact, is what makes Him God.

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