John Calvin & the Greatness of God...
Have you ever tried to give yourself a pat on the back? Sure you can do it, but it takes a lot of strain and effort and you can't do it for long without experiencing pain or discomfort. I couldn't help concluding that there’s a reason why it’s hard to pat ourselves on the back. The reason is, we're not supposed to! Self-congratulation is simply indicative of the age old problem of pride, where instead of lifting up our arms in praise to God (which by the way is so much easier - try it!) for the gracious gifts and abilities he has given, we claim expertise and attribute our ability to our own hard work.
John Calvin mentions pride at the very start of 'Institutes of the Christian Religion', saying We always seem to ourselves righteous and upright and wise and holy – this pride is innate in us all!
That's a problem in Calvin's eyes as he identfies our need for a more humble view of ourselves, but not simply in relation to other people... Calvin says... So long as we confine ourselves to measuring ourselves us against other people, we may live life blissfully unaware of our need for God. But when measuring ourselves up against God, the true light of his greatness exposes who we are and reveals our need of Him.
‘Man never achieves a clear knowledge of himself unless he has first looked upon God’s face, and then descends from contemplating Him to scrutinize himself.’
‘For if in broad daylight we either look down on the ground or survey whatever meets our view round about, we seem to ourselves to be endowed with the strongest and keenest sight; yet when we look up into the sun and gaze straight at it, that power of sight which on earth was sharp is now confused by great brilliance. As long as we do not look beyond the earth, being quite content with our own righteousness, wisdom and virtue, we flatter ourselves most sweetly.'
'Man is never sufficiently touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has first compared himself with the God's majesty.'
So, today, take time to explore God's greatness as revealed in the Scriptures. The resulting knowledge of God and ourselves should lead us by the hand to seek him.
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