How Big Is God?

As curious beings, we spend much time investigating the world around us and asking a multitude of questions.  What role does man play on this incredible planet Earth?  How are we to relate to our fellow man?  Where can we explore that is deeper or higher?  These questions and many others lead our thoughts to consider mankind’s place in the Universe.  Humanity now numbers over seven billion living souls, and we exist together on a vast and diverse planet.  The overwhelming vastness of the Universe leads to the question, “How big is God?”

The truth of the matter is we cannot comprehend in any measurable degree the bigness of God. Astronomers estimate that there are as many galaxies outside the Milky Way as there are stars in it. The Hubble Ultra Deep Field (an image of a small region of space in the constellation Fornax) taken in 2004, imaged 10,000 galaxies in a cone of space so slim you could cover it with a grain of sand held at arm's length. Integrated over the entire sky, that would mean there are more than 100 billion galaxies in the visible universe, many with more than 100 billion stars each. According to Psalm 147:4, “He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.”    

In dealing with the issue of how big God is, we should first state that God is not made of stuff.  He has no dimensions, and spatial descriptions do not apply to Him.  God is not made at all but is preexistent, eternal, with no beginning and no end. (See Revelation 22:13)  He is existence, and without Him nothing else can exist.  God exists outside of and independent of His creation.

The Bible declares in Isaiah 40:12-13, “Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor?”

How big is God?  Very big.  More than that, God is transcendent.  There is no one His equal.  He is so superior that we can never fully understand Him.  At the same time, we are made in His image, and He loves us. (See Genesis 1:27; John 3:16)  He has communicated to us through His Word and His Son, Jesus.

I think you and I can agree that our view of God must increase.  This is one of the most important reasons to read the Bible consistently so we can grow in our knowledge of God.  The more we know Him the greater our understanding, faith, and love grows.  Take time this winter to look up into the heavens.  What you will see is a very, very small segment of the universe.  What you will be re-minded of is that our Great God measures this universe with the length of His Hand.  Imagine, one day we are going to see this Great God face-to-face.  Even though God is ever-present (See Psalm 139:7-10), filling the Universe and overseeing such an enormous Creation, He still inhabits the smallest and quietest of places.  

God is always present in our lives and will live in our hearts every day if only we would acknowledge Him and obey His will.

“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” (Isaiah 40:28-31)