Is God the GOAT?

When I was watching the gentlemen’s final at Wimbledon—yes, I watched the whole thing—I saw, as everyone did, a logo for a company named Slazenger on the wall behind the players. Above the name was what looked like the image of a jaguar. I thought, “Perhaps Slazenger is the parent company of Jaguar.”

Wrong. Sports clothing and equipment.

Wrong again on the jaguar image. It’s a panther.

Wrong conception of a company based upon a name and its logo.

It was a pretty classy logo, I thought. I wondered, “What would happen if God were to put His name on the court walls at Wimbledon? What logo would He use?” My next thought was that it would be weird. It wouldn’t work.  And what on earth would you use as a logo? How would one sufficiently, properly, advertise God at a sporting event, so He could be promoted, as Slazenger was?

It can’t be done. What’s more, He has already done a masterful job of letting everyone know who He is, and it’s a lot more than a name and an image. His glory has been pouring forth every day, all over the world, all over the universe, since the beginning. All humanity needs to do is look around. Look up. With our brains engaged, look at any natural thing.

Brains engaged. I know, I know. I’m asking a lot.

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world” (Psalm 19:1–4a).¹

As cool as the Slazenger logo is, it is a piece of dust compared to the depiction that the Lord God Almighty has given us that we can see every day, every night, everywhere. It is a depiction of a God that is so mighty, so powerful, so glorious, that we are unable to conceive of the power it would take to create everything from—nothing. We should be awed by it. So, Paul wrote, “For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Romans 1:19–20).

Nevertheless, we continue to hear a common criticism about God. “Why doesn’t He reveal who He is? When I die, I’m going to ask Him why He hid from me.” Paul wrote, “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened” (Romans 1:21). He also states that people “suppress the truth” in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18). Don’t believe it? If you’re a science teacher or professor, try to publish a book about creationism and keep your job.

But back to the GOAT.

After the match, the commentators discussed which of the Big Three—Federer, Nadal, or Djokovic—was the GOAT: The Greatest Of All Time. So, let’s ask this question: Among all the forces in nature, which would be The Greatest Of All Time? What are the candidates? Hurricanes? Earthquakes? Volcanoes? Tornadoes? Nuclear forces? It’s difficult to argue that any of them is greater than the One who created all these powers and the physics that make them function. What about all the so-called gods revered by humankind? The spirit of the earth? Some kind of pervasive life-energy that exists in nature, in trees and turtledoves? No, the truth is, no candidates even exist, except in our imaginations. The one true God proved His lordship over everything, not only in His creation but in His resurrection. Why? Because what Jesus said about Himself—that He was God incarnate—was proved true when He rose from the dead as He said He would.

The GOAT? All the “promotion” was done long ago in mind-blowing beauty and glory. There is no confusion about who it is based upon a wrong understanding of the depiction of Him. There are no other candidates. There is no competition and never has been.

 

¹All Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

Gif courtesy giphy.com