Nougat 1

‘What you think about Jesus? He’s alright; alright, alright.’

My dears, most of us know from positive, personal experience, that God is totally amazing. Now, many people have tried to describe God, despite the inadequacy of words. And the writer of today’s Holy Nougat is no exception. How do you describe Jesus?

“even then the darkness isn’t too dark for you! Nighttime would shine bright as day, because darkness is the same as light to you!” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭139‬:‭12‬ ‭CEB‬‬

Light in the Darkness!

Amidst a deeply profound praise session, the psalmist expounds on one of God’s unique traits: God’s Perfect Purity. You might be inclined to wonder how I got to this conclusion, when the psalmist only references light and darkness. And I’d remind you of the various stylistic devices generally used throughout the biblical narrative.

We all use different stylistic devices because our own experiences of God is partial and personal; and it isn’t possible to find the right words to capture God’s Godness to others without comparison. While God is not abstract, God’s natural invisibility makes it harder to find one concrete ‘feature’, as would be used in describing a human.

So Moses would probably describe God’s features in relation to his Burning Bush experience. And, in Exodus 3, we find that Moses tried to be even more accurate, as he asked God directly. God’s response was “I’m always present. Always here.” For that’s the reassuring Word for Moses at the moment of his deepest fear.

Before looking at other examples, let’s pause with that for a moment. We celebrate Moses as leader and human guide of the formerly enslaved Hebrew Children – and he was. But he also had his moments of doubt and fear. And while we most often think of Moses’ greatest fear as facing pharaoh, it may be that Moses’ greatest fear was actually facing himself.

If so, hearing about God’s omnipresence could be equal parts challenge and comfort. Challenge, as Moses had to accept the fact that God’s omnipresence means that his actions which he’d rather hide, were already known to God. Yet, on the heels of that thought was the certain knowledge that God Chose him Moses and Chose to accompany Moses in the task God set before Him.

For Abraham, experiencing God as Provider could be considered normal. At the time of being called by God to be set apart in Genesis 12:1-3, Abram-Abraham was assured of God’s provision. Yet he had moments. So much so that Abram repeatedly reminded God that God hadn’t met Abram’s greatest need – a child to secure his lineage. And so much so that Abraham sought to help God secure God’s promise.

Eventually Abraham understood what some of us are now beginning to grasp for ourselves: God is no one’s debtor. And sometimes receiving God’s provision requires that we give up that which we hold most dearly. For need isn’t always equal to desire. Jehovah Jireh isn’t about a cosmic Santa Claus, but reflects a Loving God Who will meet us at the point of our greatest need, even if that need is about trusting God.

But these are God’s “elect”. It’s easy to think God is only visible and available to ‘those’ beautiful people. Yet that same invisible God, Who’s with us every single step of our lives, took the time to assure a trafficked and abused woman that God was with her also. In that case, her MeToo had a positive story. For God saw Hagar, and chose to speak to her, a cast aside woman, a slave. God saw her affliction and offered her grace.

Those are some of the images that combine to offer a picture of a God Who’s Perfect Purity. A God Who is with us even when we are lost; a God Who provides our Greatest need at the risk of being misunderstood and denied; a God Who sees us at our lowest and calls us from obscurity, humiliation, and abuse into Life in Fullness.

God is Light; the Kind of Light needed to spark a chemical reaction; the Kind of Light that disrupts chaos and overturns nothingness; the Only Light that pierces absolute darkness to dispel shadows. God’s Love, and thus God’s essence, is Pure. Pure because while God abhors sin, our sinfulness doesn’t overwhelm God’s Loving Grace. Pure because evil cannot overcome; because our Fears, Needs and lack of Social Status cannot diminish God’s Love, Essence or God’s Godness.

How have you experienced God?

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May all we seek be found in Christ