The Condescending Creator

SYNOPSIS: Whenever man invents god, there you find a deity who is unapproachable, aloof, angry, interested only in his subjects keeping him happy, and characteristically impossible to please. But God is not an invention; He is the Inventor. And the Great Inventor has taken the initiative to walk among his people. Moreover, he condescends to lift them up and fill their lives with satisfaction, significance, and joy. He is the God who stoops—imagine that! And this God who stoops was at his condescending best when he not only walked among his people but when he became one of them. You see, he was not merely a God who got his hands dirty for a day before returning to the riches of heaven; he became poor for a lifetime so that we, through his poverty, could become rich for eternity. Yes, thank God for a Savior who stooped!

Moments With God // Psalm 113:4-9

Who is like the LORD our God? He is the God who stoops.

No one could ever have invented a condescending deity like that in a million years. Even if we had thought God up, it would have been a long stretch to imagine One who would be moved by interest in the plight of his creation, full of compassion and pity, extending grace and mercy, exuding love and kindness, much less One who actually stoops to do something about it.

The God who stoops—who’d a thunk it?

Whenever man invents god, there you find a deity who is unapproachable, aloof, angry, interested only in his subjects keeping him happy, and characteristically impossible to please. But God is not an invention; He is the Inventor. And the Great Inventor has taken the initiative to walk among his people. Moreover, he condescends to lift them up and fill their lives with:

• Satisfaction: “He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump.” (Psalm 113:7)
• Significance: “He sets them among princes, even the princes of his own people.” (Psalm 113:8)
• Joy: “He gives the childless woman a family, making her a happy mother.” (Psalm 113:9)

He is the God who stoops—imagine that!

And this God who stoops was at his condescending best when he not only walked among his people, but when he became one of them. You see, he was not merely a God who got his hands dirty for a day before returning to the riches of heaven, he became poor for a lifetime so we, through his poverty, could become rich for eternity. (2 Corinthians 8:9, Philippians 2:6-8)

He is the God who stoops!

The late Carl F. H. Henry, arguably America’s preeminent twentieth-century theologian, put it simply yet so profoundly: “Jesus Christ turns life right-side-up and heaven outside-in.” The Condescending Christ stooped to lift fallen humanity from the quagmire of sin into the undeserved riches and indescribable glory of Almighty God.

Yes, thank God for a Savior who stooped!