A dimension of Christianity that is not “of” the world is transcendence. That is, there is something that is beyond the ordinary, physical world. There is God who is actively involved in this world. In dealing with the “in the word” aspect of Christianity, we occasionally lose sight of the “not of” or transcendent aspect. It’s not just a recent problem. Gilbert Keith Chesterton wrote in his book Orthodoxy: “The transcendence and distinctness of the deity which some Christians now want to remove from Christianity, was really the only reason why any one wanted to be a Christian.” When we lose God from our thinking, we can end up do right things but not for the right reasons.

Jesus is sometimes regarded as great teacher, but an ordinary human being. This misses the transcendent aspects of him. When he taught, people were amazed at the depth of his teaching. They’d never heard anyone like him. When Jesus performed miracles people were astonished. Peter, James and John who saw Jesus transfigured were dumfounded When he died on the cross a non-believing centurion declared, “Truly, this was the Son of God.” When Paul, who never met the earthy Jesus had an encounter with him, he was awestruck. For two thousand years people have been changed because bu knowing the transcendent Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

For me, it has usually been in worship that I have a sense of transcendence. Maybe these words of Reginald Heber capture it:*

Holy, holy, holy!
. . . . . . . .
Only thou art holy; there is none beside thee,
Perfect in pow’r, in love, and purity.

Read Isaiah 6:1-5  and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne