Posts Tagged: Jesus as God in the flesh

“A Marginalized God”

On August 23, 2024 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

Many New Testament scholars have noted Jesus’ ministry to those on the margin: women, the poor, and so on. Luke is especially insistent about Jesus caring for those whom society considered outsiders.

Those of us who believe that Jesus was God embodied believe that Jesus’ concern for those who are outsiders reflects the very heart of God. Even if you believe that Jesus was only a great man, prophet, or teacher, but not God-in-the-flesh, you probably hope that there is a God like that—a God who cares for the outsider. And don’t we all sometimes at least feel like outsiders?

But what if God Himself is marginalized? What if God is the Ultimate Outsider? That God is love is an old idea. Yes, it is ever fresh and deep, but it has been around for a very long time. And the idea that God loves especially those who are not loved by others is an old and venerable idea as well. And if we believe that God loves those on the margins, we might extrapolate to our own responsibility: We also are called to love outsiders. But God being marginal? That’s a new idea—or at least it is to me.

Now you may say, “Wait a minute! Isn’t God the center of everything? How could the creator and sustainer of the universe be considered marginal?”

The simple answer is “Yes, God is the Center.” But, as with almost all simple yeses, this yes must be nuanced. In this case, nuance means asking myself questions that I don’t want to ask, because I already know the answers and don’t like them. Here are the questions: Is God an outsider to me? Do I marginalize God? Do I sometimes (often?) act as if there is no God? Am I, practically speaking, an atheist?

My own belief is that faith is not simply a matter of the intellect, the emotions, and the will. Faith is action as well. So the question that cuts like a knife is this: Do my actions suggest that God is in the center of my life or on the margins of my life?

Oh God, you are The Center. Help me to treat you that way today. Please.

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