Our Very Near Transcendent God

God is transcendent, a word that seems to focus on God’s distance. Yet in a theological sense, transcendent means “otherness.” God is that which we are not; God is completely other. Yet God is imminent. Scripture portrays God as very near desiring to share God’s love in the Big Bang, taking on our human nature and pitching his tent among us.

God’s transcendence and imminence are somewhat synonymous. Reflecting on God’s transcendence, we “set our hearts on what pertains to higher realms” (Col. 3:1) while living and moving and having our being in God with our feet on terra firma. While God is Wholly Other, God becomes one of us. Everything we see, touch, taste, smell, feel is part of the Divine Milieu. Every being is connected in God. So look for God today. God promises: “When you look for me, you will find me. Yes, when you seek me with all your heart” (Jer. 29:13).