the G sides

There are two things I walk away from the Origins with concerning my theology of God. First, He’s selfish. Second, He is complicated.

I admit that ‘selfish’ is a strong word but I really can’t think of a better one. In humans, this extreme focus on self is called narcissism. And let’s be honest…it never goes well. If I really lived that way all the time, got what I wanted, when I wanted it and how I wanted it…it would be as close to hell on earth as I can imagine. How many times in my life have I been thankful that I didn’t get what I want? How many times has it turned out that what I wanted and how I wanted it would have ended up killing me?

But God functions this way – wanting to be the center of our life, always and forever. He wants us to have what He wants and how He wants it. So what’s the difference? It’s obvious that the difference is that God is good…all the time. Goes back to starting our theology in Genesis 1, not Genesis 3. He’s selfish because that’s what is best for us all. Anything other than God in the center of our lives is death, mayhem. Impossible to miss that in the first 11 chapters.

It’s also impossible to miss how complicated God is at times. This is a comfort to me, honestly. Growing up hearing the simple explanations of God and His word not only left me hollow but unsatisfied. This simple understanding led to some incorrect conclusions about God. Every story in the first 11 chapters has the temptation to be understood in simple and wrong terms. “God confused the languages because humanity was becoming more like Him and He wanted to stop that.” Well…okay but is that it? I mean, really…God has a complex thinking that there is a chance we’ll evolve and His job will be in danger?

There is always more to the story, more to God’s response than just the obvious. And that’s a good thing. It means that God is deeper, truer, and larger than I am or what I can imagine. And that’s exactly the kind of God I need at my center. Not the Tin Can, “Everything Will Be Alright In The Morning” God that my youth rebelled against.

The Tower is testament to this. You can hear my full rant on this here, but suffice to say that every response of God will be more than just judgment, more than just reaction. It’s full of His protection and provision as well…even when I can’t see it at first.

The artwork is by Lisa Peterson. Every culture and language originated out of one ‘hand.’ The colors and the pageantry of all the different worlds and how the most unifying feature of any culture is its language. Modern linguists are fascinated how all the different languages have similarities to each other.

In the end, all these cultures will be reunited. They won’t lose their distinctiveness or their flavor. Their unifying feature will no longer be their language or their color, but Jesus himself. We get a glimpse of this in Acts 2. The full picture will come later. Lord, hasten the day.