What is God like? #7 - Mysterious in Immanence

God is Immanent

    A quick survey of online dictionaries can give you a good sense of what the word "immanent" means: "Naturally part of something; existing throughout and within something; inherent; integral; intrinsic; indwelling." In particular, when we are using the term with regard to God, we define God's immanence as "Permanently pervading and sustaining the universe." It's hard to put your finger on something that is in your finger, and the thing your finger is reaching to touch upon, and the space in between your finger and the thing. Think of a glass of water when you drop coloring into it and the color pervades the water. Often this concept comes upon us as a sense of the divine or sublime in nature particularly. Standing on the top of the great mountain peak, we breathe in the mountain air and "experience" the presence of God in the moment. As we look up into the stars and feel the vastness of the universe, and our own smallness within it, we feel that special sense of awe and wonder and touch the finger of God in the Heavens. For many people this is their first thought of anything approaching an idea that there might be a God. Their experiences of life, nature, love, excitement and death lead them to this place of feeling a oneness with the world, other people, and God.
    You may have heard of this guy way back in redemptive history named Patrick. They have a day where they supposedly celebrate his life with parades, wearing green things like shamrocks and drinking enough alcohol to drain the great Shannon river dry, and generally trying to be as stereotypically Irish as possible. Well, truth be told, the great island nation of Ireland was known to have been converted from pagandom to Christianity in one generation. The people of the island then call Erin were particularly enamored of the beauty and wonder of the natural aspects of their homeland. They had developed deeply held beliefs and reverence for the land, the trees, the woods, rivers, dells, and hills there. They worshipped nature, because it was the place they felt the closest to the divine presence. Saint Patrick, knowing this, rather than rebuking them for their bad theology, encouraged them to draw near to God by seeing Him in the things of the creation He had made. And so there was developed a great understanding of God's presence, or immanence, within the very rivers, stones and trees. In the famous prayer attributed to Saint Patrick, called the Breastplate of Saint Patrick, there is a short section invoking the divine within creation;

 I arise today
through the strength of Heaven,
the rays of the sun,
the radiance of the moon,
the splendor of fire,
the speed of lightning,
the swiftness of the wind,
the depth of the sea,
the stability of the earth
the firmness of rock.

This poetic sense of God's presence within His creation is a great testament to the power of the potential of a life changing experience of a life giving Spirit, who is the God of all creation.
   
    David, the warrior poet of scripture, put it like this: "Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend into heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there Your hand shall lead me, And Your right hand shall hold me(Psa. 139:7-9). This is beautiful language that describes the two essential parts of this concept of immanence. David says that no matter where he goes, God is there, and that wherever he is, God sustains him. Later, David's son and successor to his kingdom, Solomon, said, “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! (1Kings 8:27) And later God speaking through the prophet Jeremiah said,
 "Can anyone hide in secret places so that I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do not I fill heaven and earth?” declares the LORD(Jer. 23:24).
    The apostle Paul probably had the best approach of all to this concept of the immanence of God. When he spoke before the philosophers at the Areopagus in Athens, he made a connection to their understanding of a God that was worshipped as the "unknown god". He then said,  "Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.  ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone — an image made by man’s design and skill." (Acts 17:24-29) When Paul used the phrase "In Him we live and move and have our being" he was appealing to their natural understanding of God through nature and the mere experience of life. And when he spoke of God's sustaining work by saying "he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else" he was explaining the very nature of God in His immanence. The next time you feel that closeness, or amazement, or wonder at the beauty or intricacy of the Creation, know that you have experienced God through the fact that God is close and continually keeping us all going.