Tag: creation

Infinite Understatement

Hyperbole? Sure. Poetry? Of course. Understated? Infinitely.

Could we with ink the oceans fill,
And were the skies of parchment made,
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
And every man a scribe by trade,
To write the love of God above
Would drain the oceans dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
Though stretched from sky to sky.
O love of God, how rich and pure!
How measureless and strong!
It shall forevermore endure
The saints’ and angels’ song…
—From a poem by Rabbi Meyer, Worms, Germany, 1096, adapted by F.M. Lehman, 1917

Definitely my Favorite.

—j

Aslan is Not a Tame Lion

I love the fact that God didn’t ask us to figure Him out. We can’t. Even living eternally with Him, I doubt we ever could—and we might not even want to try. As analytical Westerners, we naturally task ourselves to explain things like how God came to be, how He made the universe, and what the end of the world will be like, because being able to explain God, even a little, makes Him a safer, more predictable God. But Aslan is not a tame Lion. God didn’t explain Himself, He revealed Himself. He can never be measured, only worshipped…

“The Jewish God…is awesome, invisible, the eternal creator, the reason why all is as it is. But belief in such a God tells you nothing about how things work, what they are made of, or how the creator has structured the universe in which we have to find our way. In the beginning, the majesty of God closes all questions.” —Professor John Gaskin, Trinity College

How great Thou art.

—j