Our Accommodating God -Introduction

Our Accommodating God – Introduction.

“Who is able to understand the mind of Lord Yahweh? Who is able to be His teacher? We, however, have the mind of Christ!” (1 Corinthians 2:16).

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: 

1. What are the reasonable limits of accommodation and concession?
2. 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?
3. 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?
4. Does it ever happen that we accommodate others at the expense of what is healthy for us?
5. What are the guardrails for our flexibility so that we don’t twist ourselves into an ineffective pretzel?
6. When accommodating others, might there be a point where we merely become “nice” instead of loving?
7. Is it possible to become so “easy-going” that we lose all sense of personal conviction?
8. Are we in danger of losing our own moral compass or compromising our moral standards when accommodating others?
9. 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.” (Genesis 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 the Almighty 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.) Abraham’s Chutzpah. “Then they turned away from there and went toward Sodom, but Abraham still stood before the Lord. And Abraham came near and said, ‘Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”(Genesis 18:22,25). So the Almighty God was willing to bargain with His friend Abraham? God would stoop to consider various possibilities with a human being? Whoa. God is certainly an obliging Being, isn’t He?

(4.) The Wilderness 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?

(5.) The Law of Moses: “You shall therefore love the Lord your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always.” (Deuteronomy 11:1). Why did the Lord Yahweh make legal concessions to His people in matters like slavery, polygamy, divorce, and temporal kings? Was this our completely righteous God winking his eye because of the cultural realities of the time? Does God make accommodations like that now in our time?

(6.) Holy Scripture: “Every Scripture has been inspired by the Holy Spirit, the breath of God. It will empower you by its instruction and correction, giving you the strength to take the right direction and lead you deeper into the path of godliness. Then you will be God’s servant, fully mature and perfectly prepared to fulfill any assignment God gives you.”(2 Timothy 3:16-17). Why would a Divine Being who is outside of language, who invented the idea of human language, stoop to communicating with us in this simple way? Creator God certainly isn’t a native speaker in one particular language, yet He accommodated with His people in their language so they could understand Him. God condescended to speak our language so He could meet us where we are and help us know Him better, right?

(7.) God’s Incarnation: “And the angel Gabriel said to Mary, ‘Rejoice, highly favored one, full of grace! The Lord is with you; blessed are you among women. Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And Behold! You will conceive in your womb… The Holy Spirit will fall upon you and the power of the Most High will overshadow you with the bright cloud of His presence… and you will give birth to a baby boy, a Son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High.” (Luke 1:28-32, Luke 1:35). Is there any doubt that the Word Made Flesh is the greatest divine accommodation of all time? God the Spirit willingly condescending to become God in the flesh? This appears to be nothing but a major concession to our sinfulness.

(8.) God’s Holy Fools: “For although I am a free man, not bound to do anyone’s bidding, I have made myself a servant to all in order to win as many people as possible… With the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. With all kinds of people I have become all kinds of things, all things for all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.” (1 Corinthians 9:19-23). Context is everything when it comes to spreading the gospel, doing whatever it takes be a preservative in a rotting world, a light of truth in the darkness. Whether it’s the bizarre antics of God’s prophets and messengers in the Hebrew Bible, or St. Paul the ultimate missionary in the New Covenant, adjustments according to the people and their culture is the name of the game.

(9.) God’s Special Effects. The Lord was not above using His creation to present some special effects to communicate with His people. He seemed to love putting some drama from nature into the mix when it comes to revealing who He is and how He expects people to live. God is accommodating, He will alter nature itself if that’s what it takes. The sun standing still? No problem. Throw in a horde of hornets? Got it. A little earthquake or two? Why not. How about My speaking from a violent whirlwind, from the eye of a hurricane? Sure thing.

(10.) God’s Judgments. “ Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked’, declares the Lord God, ‘and not rather that he should turn from his way and live? Make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live. As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, repent from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel!”   (Ezekiel 18:23, 31-32; 33:11). The Judgment Throne of Grace… It seems clear from Scripture that the Lord God is yearning to make allowances for our sins, to adjust His guilty verdict, to accommodate us in His judgments through our repentance. Our Judge is full of mercy and will adapt to anyone who is willing to change his ways, either now or in the hereafter.

(11.) The Church’s Sacraments: “Lord, we pray that in your goodness and mercy your Holy Spirit may descend upon us, and upon these gifts of bread and wine, sanctifying them and showing them to be holy gifts for your holy people, the bread of life and the cup of salvation, the Body and Blood of your Son Jesus Christ…” (Anglican BCP). What are these holy mysteries other than the eternal Lord God accommodating us in a physical way so He can grow His spiritual life within us? What else can they be but God deigning to share His divine life with us, coming down and transforming tangible nature in a way that we can apprehend it and participate in His eternal life? The sacraments of Baptism, Communion, the Anointing Oil and Marriage offer to us God’s gifts of Himself for our transformation, stooping to our level in nature to bring us sanctifying grace.

(12.) Contemporary Dreams and Visions. “Call this number if you have seen Jesus!” This sign on a city bus in Egypt reveals the common miracles taking place around the world. Wherever it is risky to follow Jesus, He simply does a workaround and doesn’t even flinch at reaching out through dreams and visions. God loves us too much to let His opponents have their way in limiting access to Him. Our accommodating God will do whatever it takes to tell of His love and salvation. God will stop at nothing to reveal Himself and to offer the hope we all need for this life and the next. The Lord makes a way where there is no way, including dreams and visions.  Appearances of Jesus in dreams is so common now that they have even become a special area of academic study and research, and the term used in scholarly circles is “Christic Visions.” God has chosen, and continues to choose, dreams to woo us to Him, to warn, instruct and guide, to reveal the reality of His life and presence, and to encourage those who have no other way to have access to Him.

“O the depth of the riches and the wisdom and knowledge of God! What a deep wealth of wisdom and knowledge He has! How incomprehensible are His decisions, how unsearchable His judgments! How undiscoverable are His paths, how mysterious His ways, beyond finding out! Who has understood the mind of Yahweh? Who knows how the Lord thinks, or what His thoughts are? Can anyone discern the Lord’s intentions, His motivations? Who knows enough to give Him advice? Is there anyone qualified to be His counselor? Who has given Him so much that He needs to pay it back? Who could ever have a claim against Him? For everything was created by Him, everything lives through Him, and everything exists for Him; So to Him must be given the glory forever! Amen!” (Romans 11:33-36; Isaiah 40:12-14).