"My name is growing all the time, and I've lived a very long, long time; so my name is like a story." goes a quote from JRR Tolkien that our pastor referenced in last Sunday's sermon. He was talking about God and his name YHWH and how he revealed himself to be YHWH to Moses. It got me thinking about all the other names for God used in the Bible and how he reveals them progressively to his people. He doesn't give us a list from the first pages of Genesis of all his names. Instead, he reveals who he is through his names and what they mean and in varied circumstances.
So, the first name for God in Genesis 1:1 is Elohim, the Creator. This already reveals so much about who he is. He was in the beginning. He created. Before he created, there was nothing. But the beautiful thing is that throughout the pages of Scripture, he continues to reveal who he is. And as he does so, he also gets progressively closer to man. It is no accident that Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. He is the awesome all-powerful creator, but he is also with us. Us.
But, even though he chose to reveal who he is slowly, he has always been all of his qualities. He doesn't change. It's our understanding of him that changes. And that brings me to my second point. This whole process of revelation over thousands of years of history, is a beautiful picture of how our understanding of God grows and deepens as we get to know him better. All of his names have already been revealed and he is not (and has never) changed. But, we come to deeper and deeper understanding of who he is by studying his word and through our lived experience of who he is.
So, who is God to you? Do you believe in a creator, but that's all that you know God to be? Did you know that he is El Roi, the God who sees? Did you know he was first called that by a woman? If you don't know God as seeing and hearing and deeply caring about who you are, then you are missing out. Did you know he is healer, and almighty and a shepherd and a saviour and all kinds of other wonderful things? If you don't, I suggest you pick up a Bible and start studying it for yourself. God has revealed himself in its pages because he wants you to know him. He wants a relationship with you. How incredible.
