God is bigger than we know
by Kimberley Pfeiffer
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Blessed are those … whose hope is in the Lord their God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever (Psalm 146:5,6).
In 1882, Friedrich Nietzsche provocatively wrote, ‘God is dead. And we have killed him’. What he meant is that God, who used to be our highest value, now has no value. Yesterday, we reflected on the little lights of the world that are competing for our attention and promising to make life better. Some commentators argue that these things have such sway because we are now living in a time of ‘normal nihilism’, meaning that we cannot help but think of ourselves as choice-makers shopping in a ‘values marketplace’. This raises the question: where does that leave God?
Today’s psalm reminds us of who God is – the ‘maker of heaven and earth’. We are his creatures, and no matter how prevalent the dominant ideas of our age are, they cannot change God and his nature. God has broken into our world and has chosen us like he chose Jacob and gave him his promise. Jesus died and rose from the dead to give us new life in him and the gift of faith through his word and sacraments into eternity. Further, he has given us a helper, the Holy Spirit, who is with us in our every trial and joins our prayers to Jesus, our great High Priest.
Nietzsche was kind of right. We did kill God when Jesus was crucified, but even death could not hold him down. Jesus rose to reign in time and eternity. Our God is not a God of our own making. We don’t need to defend God or present God as a reasonable option in the marketplace of ideas, nor do we need to be embarrassed because people cannot see who God is by his light. Instead, we are called to share our hope, speak his life-giving word and trust that the Holy Spirit will be at work through that proclamation. Indeed, this truly surpasses all human understanding. So, thanks be to God for his goodness and mercy to us. Let us pray with the psalmist: ‘Praise the Lord!’
Dear Heavenly Father, forgive me for allowing my culture to cast doubt in my heart about the power of your word. Restore to me a new and right spirit so that I can continually sing psalms of praise. Praise God, from whom all blessings flow. Praise him, all creatures here below. Praise him above, ye heavenly host. Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost. Amen.
Kimberley Pfeiffer is married to Pastor Joshua, and they have four children. Kimberley served in various capacities in the LCA Churchwide Office before moving to the USA at the beginning of 2022 for Joshua to complete his PhD studies. In God’s provision, Kimberley has been given the opportunity to study a Master of Arts (Theology) degree at Concordia Theological Seminary, St Louis, which she says she is enjoying very much.
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