Christ Brings Romance to Divinity

Pure omnipotence is boring. That is the general consensus from the most rabid of modern secularists (like Ben Croshaw) to the most congenial of old school Christians (like G.K. Chesterton). The power to do all without any limitations whatsoever results in boredom because (as Chesterton put it in Heretics) "the thing which keeps life romantic and full of fiery possibilities is the existence of these great plain limitations which force all of us to meet the things we do not like or do not expect"; or (as Croshaw put it) a game is only fun (and even possible) when you are required to use only four or five lego bricks at a time even though you have access to all of them. Such an assessment is quite correct; a man of limited means is ever and often in motion, while the rich and totally secure are the ones having to continually stave off the doldrums. Increased affluence means increased apathy; the larger one gets, the less room they have to move. That's all well and good.

What, however, are we to do with God? Surely the above-mentioned claim does some damage or poses some threat to Him as well? Actually, not at all and for one simple yet profound reason: Jesus Christ. It is in Christ that divine omnipotence knows the meaning of limitation. In the catharsis (Phil. 2:5-8) and the incarnation (John 1:14), God emptied himself and became a man; or to put it another way, He limited Himself and became limitation. In creating the universe, God created "limitation" as we know it; but He did not stop there. With the birth of Christ, He has tasted limitation, becoming one with it and dwelling amongst it. He knows what it means to be human; He has been "in the thick of it." At Christmastide, we do not come to consider bored omnipotence or aloof divinity. Our God is not a god of boredom, for in Christ our God is "immanu"--with us, in every sense of the Word.