This morning I was studying Romans 15 when it struck me that our God is more than a little different than most. I know, I know. Anyone with a Sunday School level understanding of the Bible can see that our God is certainly "unorthodox" as far as deities go. I mean talking donkeys, whales, or "Big Fish", barfing up prophets, the King of the universe born to a virgin, in a stable with no one but shepherds to witness the event. It isn't just in the big things, though.
In Romans 15 Paul talks about how the strong need to accept the weak and the weak need to accept the strong. He mentions in three different places "the God of". In verse 5 "May the God of endurance and encouragement..." Verse 13 he says "May the God of hope fill you..." In verse 33 "May the God of peace..."
It struck me as odd that Paul uses that phrasing because it calls to my mind the Greek and Roman dieties. Zeus, the god of lightning. Poseidon, the god of the sea. Demeter, goddess of the harvest. Aphrodite, the goddess of love. These were mythical deities bound to one facet and one alone. They had their domain and didn't stray far from it, whereas our God is multifaceted. His is the air, the wind, the rain, the lightning, the sea, the cattle on the thousand hills...but He goes beyond the impersonal forces of nature. He is the God of love, encouragement, peace, endurance, hope, etc.
The ancient Greeks and Romans could only ask for the blessing of their deities in their domain, in the things under their direct control and they might listen or they might not. However, no one went to the temple of Zeus and said, "Make me like you." That would be hubris and invite an inevitable divine smackdown, if you know your Greek literature.
Our God, however, is both very able and very willing to do just that. He will not be fashioned into our image as a thing of wood or stone, but He will fashion us into His image. One cannot be an active follower of the LORD and not take on His qualities. More than anything He desires to shape us, to breathe into us His very attributes, to have us exercise His wisdom, His love, His peace. He is not a God far removed from our daily lives as the mythical deities of old were perceived.
The Buddha tells his followers that, given a few lifetimes and a lot of right living, maybe in your own power you can achieve what he has achieved. You can be like him...maybe...maybe not...don't screw it up. It's all on you.
Mohammed tells his followers that if they do the right prayers, eat the right things, do the right things, manage to make it to Mecca, and dance around a stone then maybe, just maybe you might make it to heaven. But maybe not. Don't screw it up.
Jesus, on the other hand, says to come to Him and He, not you, will make you like Him.
In Christianity, it is not on us to make ourselves acceptable in the sight of the LORD. That's on the LORD himself and what Jesus did on the cross. It is so freeing, so mind boggling, so revolutionary in all of the religious systems of the world that God would say, "No, you can't do this yourself. Let ME do it. You just come to Me and I'll make you acceptable. I WILL make sure you get into heaven."
It reminds me just why He is also called, the God of our Salvation.
Pax,
P
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