“God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is LORD of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; Neither is worshiped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things” (Acts 17:24–25).
Have you ever noticed how a baby depends on grownups for almost everything? Babies can’t feed themselves. They can’t change their own diapers. They can’t dress themselves or bathe themselves or walk—at least not for about a year after birth. If a kidnapper sneaked into a baby’s bedroom or the house caught on fire, the baby would be helpless against the danger. About all babies can do is sleep, eat, cry, and make messes! Without moms and dads to meet their needs, babies would die.
Growing kids need parents to take care of them too. Even adults need help obtaining food and clothes—they need other adults to run grocery stores and clothing shops. For our entire lives, we are dependent on other people. For our entire lives, we are also dependent on God to give us “life, and breath, and all things.” Without Him, we could not exist for a single second.
God is totally different. He needs nothing and nobody in order to keep existing as the “LORD of heaven and earth.” He “made the world and all things therein”—nobody made Him! He doesn’t need people to build Him a house to live in. He doesn’t need anything from any of us, because He already owns it all. Even if every human being died in a worldwide disaster, God would still exist the same as He always has.
So if God doesn’t need us, then why did He create us? Was He lonely, so He made us to be His friends? Was He bored, so He created us to entertain Himself? No! God created us not because He needed us to meet His needs, but because He knew we could bring glory to Him.
We humans bring glory to God when we obey and honor Him. Not all humans do that, and the ones who don’t bring Him glory often find life miserable. But humans who do honor God and live according to His Word find that He completely meets their needs for “life, and breath, and all things.” He satisfies them with total, eternal joy—because they are doing what He created them to do: bring glory to Himself.
God is the only being who exists totally on his own.
My response:
» Do I live like I’m on my own, or do I remember that everything I am and have is a gift from God?