The God Who Becomes a Human Being

D.A. Carson writes: “In his 1903 book The Dynasts, Thomas Hardy describes God as “the dreaming, dark, dumb Thing that turns the handle of this idle show.”  Hardy’s God is not a person but a thing.  It is devoid of relationships, friendship, fellowship, warmth.  It is utterly silent (“dumb”); it cannot speak.  Yet in some ways it controls our lives, presumably in some sort of impersonal, amoral, purposeless, and fatalistic fashion, as it “turns the handle of this idle show.”

The God of the Bible, the God who is there, is not like that.  Though he is sovereign, he is also personal: he is presented as passionate, relational, warm, indignant, loving, wrathful.  Above all, he is the God who communicates—not only in spectacular events, and not only in nature (Psalm 19:1-2), but also in words that have been written down in the Bible.  So important is this category of “word” that eventually it is applied to the highest and greatest revelation of all: the revelation of God in the person of his Son, who is consequently called God’s Word, his self-expression.  For this Word “became flesh” (John 1:14).  Jesus is not merely a spokesperson for God, a kind of souped-up prophet; he is the explanation of God, the narrative of God, the exegesis of God (Hebrews 1:1-4).

In other words, while pondering the incarnation or wrestling with the doctrine of the Trinity, one must see that a huge claim to revelation is being made—the revelation of God.  If this is taken seriously, one can never again reduce Christianity to the level of mere ritual and popular religion: it is bound up with God becoming a man, with revelation of the most exquisitely high order.  Jesus cannot be reduced to the level of guru equivalent to other gurus.  He is utterly unique.”

If you are interested in talking more about the eternal Son of God who entered human history and became man, you are warmly invited to come and join us for our next Bible study, which takes place tomorrow night (Wednesday, May 25) from 6:30 to 8 PM.  We meet at 9257 Amsden Way in Eden Prairie.  Our study will focus on John 1:1-18. 

What song is in your head?

Music is a part of our daily life.  From ipods, to background music at Starbucks, to our favorite radio station, there is not a day that goes by without listening to a song or singing along to our favorite tune.  Many of these tunes get stuck in our head—whether we like it or not.  And many of the lyrics of the songs we sing affect our mood and our outlook on life.

Have you reflected on why we sing so much?  One person said “let me write the songs of a nation, and I care not who makes its laws.”  The shaping of our minds often takes place on the basis of what we are listening to on our ipods.  Music reflects the emotions and experiences of life, and it impacts us to the depth of our being.  Music stimulates our soul.

Music strikes a chord with our heart, mind, and emotions.  Music tends to bring to mind the memories and the experiences of life, from times of great joy, excitement, and happiness to moments of intense grief, mourning, and sadness.

If you are interested in talking more about these things, you are warmly invited to come and join us for our next Bible study, which takes place tonight from 6:30 to 8 PM.  We meet at 9257 Amsden Way in Eden Prairie.  Our study together is based on a book by D.A. Carson called The God Who is There.  Tonight we will talk about chapter 6, entitled “The God who is Unfathomably Wise.”  Our study will focus on Psalm 51. 

God has created us as musical creatures (although some are more “musically gifted” than others).  God has given us the gift of music to enjoy together.  In the Old Testament, of the 38,000 people who ministered at the temple in Jerusalem, 4,000 were musicians.  In today's culture, music is a part of the lives of God’s people throughout the week, and a crucial element to our corporate worship together on Sunday.

The God who is there—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—speaks to us in the Bible by way of song.  In fact, there are 150 songs in one book of the Bible.  That book is the Psalms, which reflect every emotion of the human heart.  One man said that “there is not an emotion of which any one can be conscious that is not here presented in the psalter as in a mirror.” 

The psalms speak of the entire range of human emotions for all circumstances of life.  We all go through times of joy, lamentation, repentance, discouragement, confusion, and frustration.  We can resonate with the emotions and experiences expressed in the psalms, including loss, shame, death, triumph, gladness, and thanksgiving.  The psalms allow us to express the genuine delight and struggles of our heart. 

The range of emotions in the psalter informs us on how to sing God’s Word.  We do not always feel joyful when we worship.  At times, the circumstances of life seem to overwhelm us and leave us feeling lonely or discouraged.  Singing the Psalter allows us to express the myriad feelings of our hearts. 

The psalms also point us to Christ.  The Word of God, from Genesis to Revelation, is God’s plan to redeem a people for himself through Christ.  We read the Bible with a Christ-colored lens, so as we sing the psalms we are expressing our gratitude to God for what he has done to save us from his holy, divine wrath through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. 

So, what song is in your head?  My prayer is that God’s Word will fill our hearts and minds, and that the words of the psalms are on our lips. “Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name!  Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits” (Psalm 103:1-2).