The Spaciousness of God

Scripture includes several references to the ways God frees us from constrictions and gives us the space we need for fullness of life. For example, Psalm 18:20 says, “God brought me into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.” Whatever we need rescuing from these days—discouragement, self-criticism, or fear, for example—it is reassuring to be reminded that God delights in us and gives us space for healing and nourishment.

Recently, a letter from a friend who has been struggling with health issues and the death of her mother helped me understand that by seeking God, we can gain space not just for ourselves but for others. She said, “Knowing you are growing in your relationship with God somehow creates a space for me to be where I am and gives me hope that more is possible.” It hadn’t occurred to me that I myself can bring others into a spacious place where they can find peace with who and where they are simply through being engaged in my own loving relationship with God. It must be part of the mysterious Trinitarian process in which love begets love and peace begets peace.

In his book Rejoicing in Lament: Wrestling with Incurable Cancer and Life in Christ, J. Todd Billings says, “Ultimately, to be and to dwell in Christ is to dwell in the most ‘spacious place’ imaginable. In our culture, to focus one’s trust and affection on one hope—Jesus Christ—strikes many as narrow or risky. But because of who Jesus Christ is [the Alpha and Omega, and the One in whom all things hold together], to dwell in him is to occupy a wide, expansive place.” When we take our seat at the table of the Body of Christ, space suddenly appears for everyone else we carry with us in our hearts.