ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

 TOKONAKI SUNE 6, 2026

SIOPE 38-39; SAAME 19:1-11

God willingly and generously reveals himself to us. What a gift!

‘Oku finangalo lelei mo tau’ataina ‘a e ‘Otua ke ne fakahaa Ia kiate kitautolu. Ko ha taha’i koloa funga ni mo’oni!

I remember the theological questions our children would ask. The concept of a God who was in charge of everything, but whom you couldn't see, touch, or hear, amazed them. Our family devotions were freewheeling question-and-answer times. What is God like? Where does he live? Is he nice? Why is he invisible? How can we trust him? Does he really hear us when we pray? I loved the natural inquisitiveness of our children, and I loved that I had answers for their questions. I had loads of things that I could, with confidence, say about God, because he says so much about himself in his grand self-revelation, the Bible. 

We should never underestimate the spiritual importance of God's willing and generous revelation of himself to us in his word. The Bible is his autobiography, penned by the hands of those he directed by his Spirit. God wants to be known. He does not hide from his creatures-the opposite is true. He goes to great extents over long periods of time, through many situations, and through many spokesmen, to reveal to us his existence, character, grandeur, rule, and plan for the world he has made. He lavishly reveals himself in his creation, defines himself in his word, and breaks through our spiritual blindness, by his Spirit, so that we can "see," understand, and come to know and love him. The fact that God shows himself to people who naturally worship anything in creation but him is a sure sign of the magnitude of his love for us.

In Job 38-39 we find one of Scripture's most expansive descriptions of God's glory, power, and rule. Employing beautiful word pictures and focusing on his own creation and rule of the natural world, God rips back the curtain so that Job can experience the magnitude of who God is and what he does. There is uncomfortable grace in this self-revelation, as God lets Job know that, given who God is and who Job is, Job has little cause to question or debate one of such glory.

We, too, find comfort and confrontation in this awesome self-description God has preserved for us. Our ruler and Creator is also our rock of salvation. What comfort! But God's revelation of himself also confronts us with the fact that everything in life is not about our glory - it's about his.

Celebrate today that God has made himself known to you, and that this changes everything about you now and forever. God's grace in your life began with his willing and generous self-revelation.