To be condescending is not a virtue. It is a negative way of interacting with others. I wish more people knew it when they were doing it. But we all know when it’s happening to us. When another person thinks a great deal of themselves they may speak down to you. To your culture or to your way of life. Their position or possessions confuse both their true worth and yours. It’s not a comfortable feeling.
In the strict sense of the word, though, God is condescending. And we are grateful!
It’s not that the Lord holds a haughty attitude over us. There’s no need for that. After all, this is the God of all Creation. We become more aware of the awesomeness of God as we mature in our faith. So, the Divine does not need to prove anything to us. But God has always desired to dwell among us.
To understand God’s presence we must be humble. How can we be anything else but humble before a holy God? Especially if we understand what the Lord has done. Humility helps us understand God’s condescension.
God cons, or togethers with us. Dios con nosotros. Let’s not lose sight of what that entails. God is the “high and lofty one” (Isaiah 57:15). Because of God’s very nature, to con with us, God must descend. The Lord descends to us so that we can know God’s presence.
And how important is that?
Wesleyan Christians are familiar with some of John Wesley’s final words. On his deathbed, he said, “Best of all is God is with us.” He dedicated much of his life organizing a spiritual movement that would last several hundred years. The best of it all wasn’t the number of people he led or the amount of money he raised. It wasn’t the books he wrote or the reformation he inspired. New buildings and new ministries weren’t the best of anything.
What mattered most is what every believer knows can’t be taken from them. We can always sing surely the presence of the Lord is in this place. God’s condescending is our great joy.
Stay blessed…john
