“But will God indeed live on earth? Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain you, much less this temple I have built.” – 1 Kings 8:27

Part of our humanity is our desire to understand things…to fully wrap our mind around something. This is one of the dangers of Google and AI. We think a quick search online will give us everything we need to know about a given subject, when in actuality, it takes a great deal of time and effort to fully understand something. But what is more difficult than that is the truth that there are things we will never fully understand. No matter how much effort we put in, it is just beyond us.

After the completion of the most expensive, elaborate, and beautiful temple anyone can imagine, King Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, makes an amazing statement; “even the highest heavens cannot contain you.” He is not fooled for a second, thinking that God “lived” in this temple. Not even the highest heavens can contain God, how silly to think a temple could. No matter how far and wide the expanse of space is, God does not “live” there. That great expanse only exists because God created it. We cannot even comprehend the expanse, let alone the God who created it! …and we have to be okay with that. In fact, not only should we be okay, but we should be comforted. The force beyond all of creation loves us, desires a relationship with us, and goes to the greatest lengths to make sure that relationship can happen. If there is one unknowable thing we should desire to know a little more each day, it is the unimaginable love of this unfathomable God.

Almighty, loving Heavenly Father, keep us from the mistake of putting You in a box. Let us be comfortable with the fact that You are far above our understanding. But also, Father, fill us with a desire to know You more each day. Let the combination of Your vastness and Your intimacy bring us comfort for every season of life.

In Christ’s Service,

Pastor Shane Cannon