The Great I AM

My mind has been blown to bits, it seems like. I have always known that God is an amazing God, but I know it for sure now. This week during theology, we studied God's attributes and the Trinity. Here are a few points that struck me powerfully.

• God is all knowing, omniscient. He knows all things. He knows the past, the present, and the future. But he doesn't know them like man does. Man thinks of them in periods, stages, sequences. Not so for God. The omniscient God sees them as a whole, all at once. They are just there for him, right there. All the time. Forever. Always. For mankind, our lives are a timeline with little dots for every happening. For God, every single person's life that ever existed is a great....big...bubble or cloud??? It's so mind blowing to think about. I can barely express these incredible thoughts.
• A man can have a few characteristics at a time. Perhaps someone is kind, joyful, merciful, and gracious at once. Those are descriptions of a finite being. And those characteristics can change from moment to moment. God on the other hand. Wow. He can be forgiving, merciful, loving, rational, just, jealous, creative, wise, personal, good, truth, long suffering, empathetic, free, righteous, beautiful, peace, blessed, patient, compassionate, gracious, glorious, honorable, faithful, awesome. All at the same time. But these are not characteristics of God. These are God's essences. His attributes are not added onto him. He does not learn to be patient or loving. His attributes are identical to him. It's so hard for me to describe, but, He just IS. He is all that he has. These essences or attributes flow out of him like rays of sunlight flow out of the burning, beautiful sun. He is The Great I AM.
• God is a simple being. When I heard this, especially after pouring over articles that described God's attributes and seeing how incredible the He truly is, I couldn't believe it. Simple? How in the world could this God be simple? As I continued to read, I realized the word means something different for an infinite being. God is simple because he is not made up of parts or a body. God is infinite and spirit.

"The mind boggles at these awesome intensifications. The contours of these truths are angular and daring. Who would imagine a God like this, so beyond us, so threatening and kind? Who would put themselves completely at his justice and mercy? Surely there must be something we can give him, some indispensable service we cold render, some godlike role for us to play? But no! As the children of Narnia are frequently reminded of Aslan, "He is not a tame lion." From The Beauty of God's Holiness by Thomas Trevethan

"Who would put themselves completely at his justice and mercy?" One of my classmates pointed out, who wouldn't? Knowing that God is all powerful, all good, all knowing, all present. Why wouldn't you put yourself into the hands of such a Being? He is and has everything. What else can we do but trust him with our lives?

I have always used words to describe God, but after this week, these words have taken on a new meaning. I think longer before I call him something. I think about what the word really means for the infinite, simple, omni-everything, God that has graciously given me life and breath and being. My worship, my adoration for God has completely changed. I am humbled at the sight of The Great I AM.

If you want to hear a beautiful, moving song, that describes The Great I AM copy and paste this link to hear it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5CWGi82N7k&ob=av2n