Creator, Father, King #12

He is the God who made the world and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven and earth, he doesn’t live in man-made temples, and human hands can’t serve his needs—for he has no needs.

• I don’t need your help!
• I don’t need anybody!
• I can do this on my own!
• I want to be independent!

Have you ever said those words, or have those thoughts crossed your mind? If you’re like most folks, you have.

Deep down, we all crave independence. We want to make decisions on our own. We want to rule our destinies and be masters of our own domain. We see this in Scripture as early as Genesis 3—the original fall of humankind.

Teenagers are especially prone to desire independence as they make the slow, often painful, metamorphosis from childhood to adulthood with all of its privileges and responsibilities. This desire for independence isn’t all bad. Every adolescent needs to learn how to grow up, leave their parents’ shadow, and make decisions on their own.

But we must be careful of why we want independence. A prideful desire for self-sufficiency can lead to disastrous results. God created us to need others and—more importantly—to need him.

God, however, is different. God is a completely independent Being.

And this is a good thing.

What’s It Mean?

Read today’s Scripture passage again from Acts 17:24-25. God has no needs. He doesn’t need anything from us. He doesn’t need anything from creation. He is completely independent and self-sufficient.

God was never created, he has always existed, and he doesn’t require anything from anyone. He exists perfectly apart from his creation.

Yet don’t mistake God’s independence for indifference. While God wasn’t lonely when he created humans, he very much wanted to create us. He created us for his glory (Isaiah 43:7).

God is not distant or aloof. He is a loving, caring heavenly Father who wants to fellowship with those created in his image (Genesis 1:26-27). He knows the most intimate details about us. He intricately formed us (Psalm 139:13), “delights” in us (Isaiah 62:4), and sacrificed his own Son to reconcile us to him (Romans 5:10).

Is God independent? Yes. Is he also loving? Absolutely!

Now What?

The next time you crave independence, consider asking God and a loved one for help.

Did You Know?

Today’s Scripture passage comes from the apostle Paul’s time in the city of Athens as he tried to convince the ancient Greeks to abandon their worship of many gods and believe the gospel.