New Reminders: Unlimited

Everyone and everything have limits, except God.  There is a limit to how much weight a human being can lift.  Even heavy equipment can only lift a certain amount of weight.  We say we have a phone plan with “unlimited talk, text and data”.  But in spite of what the contract says, it only holds true if you can get reception where you are when you want to talk or text.  We can rent a car with “unlimited miles”, but if the car breaks down, we cannot travel very many miles until it is fixed.  When we say that God is unlimited, we mean that there are literally, no limitations on what He can do.  He has no boundaries in range or scope on where He can be.  And there are no bounds on His power, compassion, and understanding.  For Him, time and space are infinite. He is always faithful and always true to His word.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a friend like that?  Oh wait!  We do have a friend––a father like that.

God is described as omnipresent, meaning present everywhere always and is in everything.  Omnipresence is often discussed alongside other key attributes of God, such as omnipotence (all-powerful) and omniscience (all-knowing).  Yet, he is accessible to even the lowliest of us.  Jesus tells us that we can call upon God, in His name, and God will answer us.

The bible reassures us that we can count on the love of God, which is not only limitless, but also ever present and available to us. “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” Romans 8:38-39.  We can tap into God’s love and strength any time, for ourselves or to share with others. He has promised to be there for us anytime, anyplace we ask Him.

In John 14:13, Jesus said “Whatever you ask in my name, I will do”, but Jesus did not mean we could ask for a new car to appear in our driveway this minute.  God is certainly capable of anything, even a new car.  God is not limited, but He does place limitations on us.  The passage goes on, in verses 15-17, to say: “If you love me and keep my commandments.  I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him.”  In these verses, we learn that what we ask must be consistent with the will of God, and is also in our own and other’s best interest.  The implication is that if we love God and are committed to doing his will, we will not even want to ask for anything that will not be to His honor and glory.  For that reason, Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit to guide us in making appropriate requests that are in keeping with the will of God.  If we have a good relationship with Jesus, we will follow the instruction in Galatians 5:16-17: ^“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit is contrary to the flesh.  They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.”  God’s love and mercy are limitless, and He provided Jesus and the Sprit to help us overcome our limitations.