At brunch recently, a friend of mine joked to the waitress about the restaurant’s advertised “bottomless refills” on mimosas, asking her just how “bottomless” they really were. She informed us that the most she’d seen someone drink was ten mimosas. It got me thinking: ten mimosas isn’t really bottomless —it’s just ten mimosas. No one enters the restaurant expecting to drink an infinite amount of mimosas. Why? Because of everything from our height, to how fast we can drive on the interstate, to how many mimosas we can drink, we live in a world defined by limits. But God doesn’t.
By definition, he has no limits. He wouldn’t be God if he did! But sometimes we fall into the trap of treating God like we treat a “bottomless drinks” sign at a restaurant: we think, “That’s not really what that means. Of course there are limits.”
Maybe we choose not to talk to God about something important, because we’ve already prayed a few times today, and we don’t want to bother him. Or we’re afraid to ask for his mercy or healing or power in a given situation, because we already have many times before. But that’s not what God wants out of a relationship with us. He created us – he knows that we have limits; that is why he makes his whole limitless self available to us!
Jesus tells us to “come to me, all who are weary and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28, ESV), and Peter tells us to “cast all your anxiety upon him because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7 NIV).
Because we live in a fallen world that still waits for Christ’s coming kingdom, our experience of our limitless God will still be limited. We can still fail to fully understand things. We can still run out of energy, patience, and time. We can’t change the fact that here and now, we’re still limited creatures.
But in Christ, we’re offered a kingdom that knows no bounds – and we’re invited to participate incrementally more and more in God’s limitless glory, character, and being, for all of eternity. Through the Holy Spirit, Christ can and will give us a foretaste of the kingdom that awaits us. Just think about that: the power of the Holy Spirit, the love of the Father, and the grace of the Son, are all ours for the asking! Sounds like an infinitely better deal than “bottomless” refills, doesn’t it?
I’m Joseph Tkach, Speaking of LIFE.