Limits

Jen Wilkin:

Theologians make two lists when they describe who God is. One list contains traits that are true only of God. The other contains traits that are true of God but that can also become true of us. Here is an example of such a list: 

                      Only God Is                                             God Is (and We Can Be)

Infinite                                                                              Holy

    Incomprehensible                                                             Loving 

Self-Existent                                                                     Just 

  Self-Sufficient                                                                  Good 

       Eternal                                                                               Merciful 

        Immutable                                                                         Gracious 

                Omnipresent                                                                      Longsuffering 

  Omniscient                                                                         Wise 

          Omnipotent                                                                         Righteous

       Jealous (for his glory)                                                          Faithful

                                                                                                Truthful

Every trait on both lists is limitlessly true of God . Once the Holy Spirit dwells in us, the list on the right can become true of us. It is a list we grow into as we walk in obedience to the commands of God. When we talk about being “conformed to the image of Christ,” this is the list we are describing. It shows us how to reflect who God is as Christ did. The problem I want to examine in the pages of this book has to do with how we humans treat the list on the left. Though this list can be true only of God, we want it to be true of us. It reveals how we try to rival God. We want this list to be true of us more than we want the list on the right to be.

Though we know that the list on the right is for our good and for God’s glory, we gravitate toward the list on the left— a list that is not good for us, nor does pursuing it bring glory to God. It actually seeks to steal glory from him. It is a list that whispers, as the Serpent whispered to Eve, “You shall be like God.” It is the natural inclination of the sinful heart to crave this list, but as those who have been given a new heart with new desires, we must learn to crave the list on the right. The list on the right represents the abundant life Jesus came to give to us.

Image-bearing means becoming fully human, not becoming divine. It means reflecting as a limited being the perfections of a limitless God. Our limits teach us the fear of the Lord. They are reminders that keep us from falsely believing that we can be like God. When I reach the limit of my strength, I worship the One whose strength never flags. When I reach the limit of my reason, I worship the One whose reason is beyond searching out. So it makes sense that our self-worship would so often take the form of convincing ourselves that we are (or ought to be) limitless. But we don’t just want limitlessness for ourselves—we tend to want it for others as well.