The Incomprehensible Nature Of God
My day had an interesting start. As I woke up, one of the first things that my eyes gazed upon was the moon; and I was in awe of its magnificence. Its monochromatic, yet intricate design and detail were beautifully illuminated by the morning light. It was truly a beautiful sight to behold. Nevertheless, I tried to capture its beauty through my camera lens but was disappointed to find that no matter what I did, I was strangely incapable of capturing a clear, detailed picture of the moon. The moon appeared too bright in every picture, and its intricate details were lost in the incapability of my camera lens.
attempt #3 -
I thought I was getting the hang of it.
attempt #12 -
Still unable to capture the moon.
In thought of this, I started to ponder how we, as humans, may try to capture and understand the beauty of God's creation, but our limited human understanding and devices can only go so far. No matter how hard we can attempt to comprehend the transcendent nature of God, we will never be able to truly express or understand the full extent of God's power and might. This is because God's full transcendent nature is something that can not be captured by finite human thoughts and ideas.
The apostle Paul writes in Romans 11:33, "Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!" Here, this verse expresses the idea that God's wisdom and knowledge is beyond our understanding and that his ways are impossible to trace. We can never truly grasp the full extent of God's power and might, no matter how hard we try.
Similarly, in Isaiah 55:8-9, the prophet writes, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." This verse highlights the immense difference between God's ways and thoughts and our own, and how we can never truly understand or express the full extent of God's greatness.
It is likely that concepts expressed in these Bible verses could have inspired the "essence-energies distinction" idea put forth by St. Gregory of Palamas. This thought highlighted the notion that God's essence is beyond human comprehension, but that his energies (or 'actions') are revealed to us through the world and our experiences. We can see and experience God's love and power through his creation, but we can never truly understand or express the full tremendous existence of his full ‘essence’.
This experience I had with the moon reminded me to be attentive to God's people in their needs and to see the evidence of his handiwork in the world around us. Therefore, we must make it a priority to make the time to look at and observe all the great wonders of God's involvement with His creation. However, we must remember that this is only a small glimpse into the infinite mystery of God's power and might.
God's love for you as part of his grand creation is so immense and powerful that it cannot be captured or expressed through human concepts or terms. It is only through our faith and relationship with God that we can truly understand and experience his love and greatness. As we continue to try and capture the beauty of God's creation, let us remember that it is only a small reflection of the incomparable power and might of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Let us strive to enrich our understanding and relationship with God, and to see the beauty of God's creation through our experiences and interactions with the world around us. Let us remember that while we can see only a glimpse of God's greatness, his essence is beyond our human comprehension and we can only truly experience God through having a faithful relationship with Jesus Christ.