“And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised” (Romans 4:11-12).
Your God is Too Small is the provocative title of a book published over fifty years ago. It often could also be the final analysis for many a crisis of faith. It clearly is a recurring theme in the history of the Jews and their spiritual stubbornness.
One reason why Jesus was so brutally rejected by the Jews in the first century was because of the shackles of personal opinion they had placed upon the Messiah and His kingdom God had promised them. The Messiah they wanted was one who filled the earth with bloodshed as He defeated the enemy on every hand. They wanted an international, political kingdom. But, God had promised them a much bigger Messiah. His soldiers would fill the earth with the message of His blood shed to defeat Satan, the arch-enemy of God and man, and offer them spiritual victory. His international, spiritual kingdom would not be filled with foes conquered by the sword but enemies conquered by His love and made by obedient faith into sons of Abraham and heirs of God.
Because of their petty, nationalistic expectations of the Messiah, they also misunderstood their revered patriarch Abraham. His seed—the Messiah (Galatians 3:16)–was going to bless all nations of the earth with spiritual victory, not military subjugation. Abraham was not going to be the physical father of only Isaac, Jacob, and the twelve tribes of Israel, God intended him to be the spiritual father of all those who believe the gospel, the circumcised and uncircumcised alike. “Your God is too small” hindered many of Paul’s circumcised kinsmen and prompted them to reject the gospel and doom themselves to eternal torment (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9).
Pigeonholing the One “who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20) into your mold of “Behold, I thought” (2 Kings 5:11) is a certain recipe for spiritual shipwreck.
Beware of “Your God is too small”!
