Our false views of a domesticated God made in our image have fallen like the Gods of Egypt. As CS Lewis said of God, “He is not safe, but he is good.” 

We have an infinite God who is beyond our control, but because that feels unsafe, we often remake him in our own image. In the book None Greater, Matthew Barrett says many of us have domesticated versions of God. We have explained away all the edges that shock us, but these small views of God leave little room for worship and awe as we approach him.

The concept of a domesticated God ran through my mind this week as I read through the ten plagues in Egypt. God does not fit into our finely crafted boxes. He tells Moses and Aaron to ask Pharoah to free the Hebrews and promises them that Pharoah will do it, but then he hardens Pharoah’s heart so he will refuse their request. We often expect God to work in clean lines, but his thoughts are higher than ours, and he is accomplishing more than we could ever expect or imagine.

It is true that God has revealed himself in his word and will never contradict his self-revelation. Still, those truths challenge us and show us we are not in control, making us feel vulnerable—so we reinterpret his self-revelation to fit our preferred notions. We have never been in control. Any idea that we are sovereign is an illusion created by the small boxes we have crafted to domesticate our great God. However, we are never more in danger than when we think we can control God, and the Christian is never safer and more blessed than when he lets God be God and trusts him.

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