The Need for the New
“…God cannot be contained in what we already know. There is always a need for…new expressions of the infinitely incomprehensible God” (p. 16, par. 4).
This quote stimulated several thoughts for me. The first was an ashamed recognition of the truth of the first part. Ashamed because until now I had not really thought about how limited even the sum of knowledge from the ancients until now really is. Ashamed because I was shown to still be placing too much confidence in man’s understanding.
The second was excitement about the potential for new expressions to enrich, teach, and admonish each other without ever saying “the last word” about God. King Ahasuerus had wise men who “understood the times” (Esther 1:13). In a way, it is based on our “understanding of the times” that we can communicate what we understand of God to other people in a relevant way. The times are constantly changing, and so there is always a need for people to express the same truths in different ways. And since God is infinite, we will never with our finite contributions fill up all there is to say about him. This excites me!
Does this excite anyone else (please tell why or how)?
When i think about it.. I guess it is pretty excitng. The fact that God is infinite just means that truths about God will never get boring becuase there will always be new ways to express them. I see that now in church. I think the arts have been one of the coolest ways to express God’s truth and as time keeps going I’m pretty sure the arts is going to bring some more creative approaches to express the truths of God in a way that will blow the minds of generations to come.
It is very exciting. Otherwise, one might say, “there is nothing new under the sun,” and sit on the couch and eat bon bons all day. Instead, God has given us creativity and brain cells and something to do with them. I especially love watching someone discover something cool in the Scriptures. As to your second point, it is the hope that I can understand the times and therefore more effectively share the Word with this generation. That’s why I’m here, spending all of Tracy’s money!
It excites me to no end. I remember when I was little everything was new and exciting. I reveled in the joys of watching “America’s funniest home videos” with my family. I rejoiced in the sweet taste of summer watermelon with salt. I even relished the lively sounds of fiddle music on an old beat up cassette tape.
Now I’ve grown rather bored of seeing “America’s funniest home videos.” I don’t really enjoy watermelon that much anymore. I’m rather unimpressed with the sound quality of that cassette tape. Actually, it’s been a long time since I’ve really been truly amazed by a piece of music.
It seems that the repetition of life has a way of taking marvelous things and causing us to grow accustomed to them so that they become mundane. That is why I am so excited that there is infinite joy in God that is overflowing to me everyday. Life is SO good, and I delight in the thousands of blessings that I experience every single day.
THis makes me so happy to know. And, at the same time, it humbles me to no end. I find that the more I learn the more I realize how much I will never know. At first, that realization made me so sad. But, when I realized why we couldn’t learn everything (because God is infinite) it comforted me and caused me to worship God all the more. Praise the Infinite One!