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Following in the footsteps of the Acts of the
Apostles, written by St. Luke, Shepherd's Cross Christian Helps Ministry
exists by the grace of God to further the first century Apostolic tradition
serving in the Great Commission. |
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The Solitariness of God
In the Beginning God
During the drive over to the restaurant, I began thinking of my favorite Psych Professor, Galen Winters, D. Min. Dr. Winters would say, “When you feel down, cross the street and help someone on the other side of the train tracks from where you live. You will be focusing on someone other than yourself. This will help you see that you do not have life so bad. Your life circumstances could be worst.” Walking towards a booth, I observed a rather large framed man sitting by himself in a wheel chair at a table eating. He was wearing a T-shirt that had the picture of a lightning storm. Blazon across the bolts of lightning were the words written in calligraphy, “In the Beginning God.” As I read these words on his shirt, my spirit felt like it had received a spiritual vitamin B-shot from the Great Physician, the Lord Jesus. Approaching this man, I spoke the words written on his T-shirt, “In the Beginning God,” I said, “Imagine this, when you were putting on that shirt today, God had a plan to share that message with me. How awesome.” He responded with a broad smile and a hearty, “God bless you!” I departed in peace. Throughout my meal, I reflected on this mighty truth, “In the Beginning God.” It began to dawn on me that what I was really in wonder over was the awesomeness of God’s Solitariness. Having taken the responsibility of adopting me at eight months old, mom also made it her duty to raise me in the Roman Catholic Faith. This was a request left by my birthmother that whoever would choose to adopt me would agree to raise me in the Roman Catholic Faith. It was this motivating factor, which led my mother to introduce me to the writings and teachings of St. Augustine, of Hippo Regius, modern Annaba in Algeria, while I was still a pre-teen. My mom and I had many memorable occasions to talk about the African monastic Bishop who was born in 354 A.D. in Tagaste, modern Souk Ahras, Algeria, and a provincial Roman city in North Africa. St. Augustine’s most notoriety comes from his book, “The Confessions.” As for me, the content of St. Augustine’s book “The Enchiridion, On Faith, Hope, and Love” fed my mind’s intellectual hunger. Mom and I used to talk about ideas that were the inspiration for long, quiet thinking that were discussed in this book The Enchiridion, like where did God come from. What was it like when God was alone before any creation? Did God need to create? Later that week, past experiences of my mom sharing biblical truths from the writings of St. Augustine came rushing back within my imagination as though it were yesterday. It was from this experience that inspired the creation of this reflective essay on the solitariness of God. God Is One Sh'ma Yisrael Adonai Elohaynu Adonai Echad. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One. Think about it, God is Echad, One. The Blessed Trinity is Three Persons, and mysteriously yet, One God. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus, true God and true man. During an eternity past, there was God the Blessed Trinity, solus, monos, alone. The word solitary is from the Latin word solus, meaning alone. In Greek, the word is monos. This is where we get the word monk. Every believer is in need of Christian community. In the case of the Blessed Trinity, Elohim was eternally in need of nothing to have self-existence. The Name Ha Shem, The Name, “I Am that I Am” Ha Shem is the Hebrew transliteration of the yod-hey-vav-hey (v - u - v - h) name, and literally means The Name. According to Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance, 3068, Ha Shem means self-existent or eternal. Ha Shem is used 7484 times in the Hebrew Scriptures. The first use, of Ha Shem, “This is the account of the heavens and the earth when they were created – when the Lord God made the earth and heavens.” Genesis 2:4 Having been a volunteer missionary in Israel for the Jewish Voice Broadcast Ministry in 1978, I learned why members of the Orthodox tradition of the Jewish faith would use Ha Shem when speaking of God is because they are trying to avoid taking the name of the Lord in vain. “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold guiltless anyone who takes his name in vain.” Exodus 20:7 “You must not make use of the name of the Lord your God for worthless purposes, for the Lord will not exonerate anyone who abuses his name that way.” Deuteronomy 5:11 “Essential implies belonging to the very nature of a thing and therefore being incapable of removal without destroying the thing itself or its character. Fundamental applies to something that is a foundation without which an entire system or complex whole would collapse. Vital suggests something that is necessary to a thing's continued existence or operation. Cardinal suggests something on which an outcome turns or depends.” Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary Think about it, God, The Blessed Trinity, was under no obligation to create. The decision to create was motivated through a sovereign, loving act caused by nothing outside of Himself. It was motivated simply because it was the good pleasure of His will to do so. Ephesians 1:11 |
