Our Accommodating God -Introduction
Our Accommodating God – Introduction. (this post is in process and will be completed soon).
An Accommodating Person is one who graciously changes plans for another’s benefit; who is willing to adjust in order to meet another’s needs; is open to adapting to changing circumstances; who is able to make concessions if needed; who makes allowances for others; who choose to oblige other and give them favors in order to be helpful; who is able to creatively shift from Plan A to Plan B if needed; who makes space for others to learn and grow; who welcomes others to fit into his own space; who makes reasonable exceptions to a general rule; who is comfortable in doing whatever it takes to be understood or to communicate effectively; who is willing to adjust expectations in light of reality; who is able to place limits on himself if it help others to flourish; who is able to step back in order to enable others to step forward.
Qualities of An Accommodating Person: Gracious; Humble; Sacrificial; Flexible; Observant; Farsighted; Insightful; Adaptable; Reasonable; Forgiving; Hospitable; Patient; Self-Effacing; Shrewd.
Doubts and Questions about Being Accommodating:
- What are the reasonable limits of accommodation and concession?
- Is it possible to bend over backwards for someone so far that you break your back? That you stoop forward for someone so far that you fall flat on your face?
- How do we keep from being such a people-pleaser that we lose a sense of our own identity, forgetting that we should first be a God-pleaser?
- Does it ever happen that we accommodate others at the expense of what is healthy for us?
- What are the guardrails for our flexibility so that we don’t twist ourselves into an ineffective pretzel?
- When accommodating others, might there be a point where we merely become “nice” instead of loving?
- Is it possible to become so “easy-going” that we lose all sense of personal conviction?
- Are we in danger of losing our own moral compass or compromising our moral standards when accommodating others?
- At one point does tough love become relevant, determining that it’s best for someone else that we Not accommodate them?
Our Accommodating God is willing to do all those descriptions above, and then some. And only God can wisely and righteously answer all those questions and doubts. It seems to be in His nature to be an accommodating Soul, a part of His character since before Day One. God has been making concessions from before the creation of the universe, since creation itself was accomplished in the spirit of accommodation. In the beginning, during that eternal time before Day One, Creator God filled everything and had always been present everywhere at the same time. God has always filled everything, so a reasonable question might be… If God filled everything, how was space made for the universe? The rabbinic reply would be that God Himself had to make space for the world by relinquishing some of His presence. God was willing to limit Himself, in a sense, in order to make room for the world. And the Lord has continued making concessions with us human beings ever since. And that is the divine pattern to be found in our lives as well… to accommodate, to make space for God and for each other. As Rabbi Jonathan Sacks says in his commentary on Exodus, “We must emulate God’s ‘zimzum,’ when He exercised self-restraint to empower others, for the highest human achievement is not self-expression but self-limitation, making space for a spouse to be themselves, for children to grow into adults, for students to grow into leaders.” There are an infinity of ways that God has been accommodating, but some of those ways that certainly deserve a close look in further articles include:
(1.) God’s ‘Zimzum’: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was unformed and empty, and darkness was on the face of the deep.” (Gen. 1:1-2). This poetic Hebrew term from the more mystical side of rabbinic tradition tries to answer a logical question… If God is everywhere and fills everything, how was there any room for Him to create a universe? What did it require of the Creator to make space for creation? And doesn’t zimzum mean that God is Mr. Hospitality, the Host with the most, welcoming us into His private domain?
(2.) God’s Glory: “Mt. Sinai was enveloped in smoke, because Yahweh descended onto it in fire. The smoke went up like smoke from a furnace, and the whole mountain shook violently, as the sound of the heavenly shofar grew louder and louder; All the people experienced the thunder, the lightning, the sound of the shofar, and the smoking on the mountain; To the people of Israel, the glory of the Lord looked like a raging fire on the top of the mountain.” (Ex.19:18 and 24:17). When God condescends to earth and shows His glory, the earth seems to split apart at the seams, nature is overwhelmed, and His weighty presence literally shakes the world. What exactly is God’s glory?
(3.) God’s Tabernacle: “Will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heavens, cannot contain You. How much less this Temple I have built?” (1 Kings 8:27). When the Lord decided to have Moses and the chosen people construct a special tent in the wilderness that He would call His ‘Dwelling Place,’ isn’t that a rather amazing accommodation to that insignificant tribe of unworthy people? Why was the Infinite willing to stoop to the finite in such a humble way? How was a Being outside of the universe and larger than the world able to remain content with establishing an intimate contact point with human beings in a portable tent and then later in a building made by a wicked, disobedient despot?