A lightweight God?
Sunday 20th July 2025
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,
who have been called according to his purpose.
For those he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son,
that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters.
And those he predestined, he also called;
those he called, he also justified;
those he justified, he also glorified.
Romans 8:28-30 (NIV)
A lightweight God?
I hope you’ll allow me one more outing into John Piper’s marvellous and magisterial book Providence. In his conclusion, he outlines ten benefits of ‘seeing and savouring’ the providence of God. That is, the confidence that God is at work in all things – literally all things – to show his glory in saving for himself a people who are supremely satisfied in him.
One of these benefits is that it will help “protect us from the trivialising effects of culture and from the trifling with divine things.” He explains: “One of the curses of our culture – and it has permeated the church and most Christian communication – is banality, triviality, silliness, superficiality, and an eerie addiction to flippancy and levity.”
He goes on to give this assessment: “My impression is that at the root of this culture of inarticulate, casual trifling is a loss of the weight of the greatness and awe-fulness of God. Everything is light and funny, because God is a lightweight. The boats of our communication bounce around with a chipper bearing on the waves of cultural trifling because the heavy ballast of a big and holy God has been offloaded at the docks of man-centred theology.”
It’s not a small, lightweight or trivial God who “in all things … works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose … to be conformed to the image of his Son” (Romans 8:28-29). That requires a God of immense power, knowledge and wisdom. He has to be in control of all events, all people, all things, all actions – and all the time – if he is to achieve his goal.
It’s a remarkable thought, and wonderfully encouraging, to realise that God uses even our sins, the evil done by others and even by Satan himself as part of his great purpose of “bringing many sons and daughters to glory” (Hebrews 2:10). Nothing and no one can stand in his way, or alter his plans, or prevent him bringing them to pass.
And so we have this ‘golden chain’ of salvation that “those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified” – a future so certain that it can be stated in the past tense (Romans 8:30). That’s what the providence of God means: the good of our salvation and the glory of the God who saves us. And he is no lightweight.
Prayer
Lord, thank you that you’re not a lightweight God, but are well able to do exactly what you decide to do, which is very good news for my salvation. Thank you. Amen.
Yours warmly, in Christ,
Chris Hobbs (Senior Minister)