(w)Holy Other

     I’ve been thinking a lot lately about a particular description of God, one I’m pretty sure I picked up somewhere in college but can’t remember for sure.  It refers to God as the (w)Holy Other.  The name attempts to point to the reality that God transcends, is distinct from, and cannot be contained in all that is…He is beyond our capacity to reach, comprehend, or grasp.  He was before all things and will continue to be at the culmination of all things.  He is the (w)Holy Other.

     To think of God this way is, at times, quite offensive.  To think of something that is beyond me, outside my capacity to control or contain, not dependant on me is…unsettling.  Yet, what makes this all particularly difficult to embrace is the fact that God is not only (w)Holy Other…God is also fully with us.  He not only transcends all that is, He engulfs it. 

     The reason I’ve been thinking about all this lately is because it’s more than just theory, it plays out in the practical reality of my life.  It plays out when I remember God is not some cosmic vending machine I can drop a quarter in and get what I want.  He does tell us we can ask anything in His name and we will receive it…but most of the things I ask for are in my name, not God’s.  It plays out when I run into circumstances I may not particularly like but I know are invitations from my Father to walk more intimately with Him.  It plays out when my understanding of who God is gets stretched.  In these moments I can choose to hang on to the present framework built around how God has revealed himself thus far in my life…or I can allow the (w)Holy Other to dismantle and rebuild. 

     How is God revealing Himself as the (w)Holy Other in your life?