Acts
17:27
Holman
Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
27 He did this so they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach
out and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us.
As a child I used to point up and imagine I was pointing toward
heaven. It didn’t take too long for me to realize that on a round earth this is
an illusion. If everyone from all over the world who pointed up was pointing
towards heaven, then heaven would be in every direction. By pointing upwards we
are simply acknowledging that heaven is a place we cannot reach by human means.
It should be obvious that if God created the universe, then
He is not in the universe. In fact, as a creator He has probably created many
universes. When He created our universe, He created it specifically for us
humans. The first commandment God gave Adam and Eve was to be fruitful and
multiply and fill the earth. Once humans had “filled the earth” were they to
quit being fruitful? A possibility is that God intended, until we sinned, for
the race to fill this universe.
Where might these other universes be? If God is outside our
universe, then He would also be outside the other universes He has created. To
use a common analogy, we can consider each universe to be a cosmic sheet of
paper. They could be stacked one upon another like pages in a book. To pursue
this analogy, just like you can put your finger down on any word or symbol on a
sheet of paper, God can put his cosmic finger down on any person in the
universe. The person would only be aware of the finger if it actually entered
our universe. Thus God could be less than a millimeter from us, and we would be
unaware of his being there. As Paul intimates in his sermon on Mars Hill, “He
is not far from each of us,” even though we might be totally unconscious of His
proximity.
I encourage you to read an 1884 satirical novella of
societal problems, Flatland: A Romance of
Many Dimensions by Edwin A Abbott. It is free online and available in
printed format. The book gives a very understandable introduction, in narrative
format, to viewing one’s universe from outside of it.
Thank You, Lord, that
You are truly not far from any of us and that we can find You when we search
for You.
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