Dear GOD, I bet it is very hard for You to love all of everybody in the whole world. There are only four people in our family and I can never do it. —Nan (age 7)
There are two sides to God’s coin. On one side is the word Father. We can relate to the father thing because of our earthly fathers. But the other side of the coin says Almighty. There are definitely people on earth who have a lot of might, but none of them have all might. We have no comparisons when we talk about God being “Almighty,” so we humans have concocted a variety of different words and metaphors to try to describe this aspect of God:
sov.er.eign n. One that exercises supreme, permanent authority, especially in a nation or other governmental unit, as a king, queen, or other noble person who serves as chief of state; a ruler or monarch.
tran.scend.ent adj. 1. Surpassing others; preeminent or supreme. 2. Lying beyond the ordinary range of perception. 3. Being beyond the limits of experience and hence unknowable. 4. Being above and independent of the material universe.
Words like this might help describe Him, but all words, no matter how descriptive, fall short of the fact that He is truly indescribable. We’ve discussed what it means to believe and what it means to have God as a perfect father, but what can we say when we discuss Him as all-powerful?
Almighty God, I bow before You in awe. Even though it will be impossible to understand You completely, what we know is incredible enough! Amen.