GOD’S NEARNESS AND DISTANCE!

The Bible teaches that God is both near and distant. But we shouldn’t emphasize one over the other! We will look first to the nearness aspect of the relationship of God to the world ! On Jeremiah 23:24 it says: “’Can anyone hide in secret places so that I can’t see him?’ Declares the Lord.’ Do not I fill heaven and earth? Declares the Lord.’ Also on Acts 17:27-28 the apostle Paul telling the philosophers on Mars’ Hill: “He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being.”

According to Erickson1 “God is not limited to working directly to accomplish His purposes.” As an example is when the people of God pray over a sick person and a miracle of healing takes place. We see here the work of God. But God can use a medical doctor with his knowledge, as given by God, in  bringing healing! Both ways are the work of God! From the hand of God!

Another clear example is when a person has a financial need. He may receive, after prayer, an anonymous gift of money through the mail or nowadays through zelle. We see this as God’s doing! But just the same he may receive an opportunity to work for the needed money! This is also from the hand of God!

A second aspect of the relationship of God to the world is His distance. A couple of Scriptures affirming the concept of divine distance are Isaiah 55:8-9 which says: “’For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,’ declares the Lord. ‘As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.’” Also in Isaiah 6:1-5, we see the Lord as “Seated on a throne high and exalted!” The angels are calling out ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord Almighty.’”

We see throughout Scriptures that God can never be completely captured in human concepts, such as for example, in our salvation. For our salvation is not our achievement! On being in communion with God in our spirits it is not attained by our making our way up to Him. It is accomplished by the Spirit of God coming to abide within us.

We must look out for excessive emphasis either way, near or distant in order to know Him. For we won’t look for God only in the religious or devotional, we will also look for Him in the ‘secular’ aspects of life. As for example, we won’t look for miracles exclusively but we won’t disregard them!

NOTES
1Millard J. Erickson, Christian Theology,(Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006), 337.