nothing but himself

“Before we get too carried away with thoughts of God’s power, we should listen attentively to what St. Paul says about the ‘weakness of God’ (1 Cor. 1:25), which is a vital part of God’s self revelation. If we look at the way in which he discloses himself in Jesus Christ, we have to acknowledge that he does not come into our world with a great display of superior power; in fact, this was one of the temptations which our Lord had to resist as being contrary to his mission, contrary to his true nature. (Mt. 4:5ff). He does not come in strength but in weakness, and he chooses the foolish and weak and unimportant things of the world, things that are nothing at all, to overthrow the strength and impressiveness of the world. As we saw earlier, he is like the judo expert who uses the strength of his opponent to bring him to the ground; it is the art of self-defense proper to the weak.

“This is why, if we keep clamouring for things we want from God, we may often find ourselves disappointed, because we have forgotten the weakness of God and what we may call the poverty of God. We had thought of God as the dispenser of all good things we would possibly desire; but in a very real sense, God has nothing at all to give but himself.”

—From Prayer by Simon Tugwell

I find this quote to be both refreshing and challenging, which is rare but wonderful.

God has nothing to give but himself.

The beauty of that simple truth is that the genuine disciple wants for nothing more. What more could I ask God for than the pleasure of his company? What greater joy is there?

This truth grounds me, and I need to be grounded because the temptations of our consumer driven culture push me to the brink of trading God for my own thirty pieces of silver. Yeah, you heard me right; and yes, I live my life that close to falling. All the time.

I need to be reminded of who he is and how much I not only need him, but how much I delight in him. I need to remember that there is something so great about him that one day in his courts really would be better than thousands elsewhere. (Them ain’t just pretty words.) And I need such a reminder often. I forget often.

Today I ground myself in the knowledge that he is all I really want, even when I want for more, and he is all I’ll ever need, even when I think I’ll die without…whatever. Today I embrace the simple truth that he is offering me nothing but himself, and I accept.

Matter of fact, I think I’m getting a pretty good deal.