Recently, I posted a question on social media: If you could ask God one question, what would you ask him? A variety of questions were posed ranging from comical to serious. Some of them reflect painful, personal experiences. It seemed good to me to do a series of blogs answering the questions posed.
The Question: "Can God make a burrito so hot He can't eat it?"
God Can't Do Some Things.
I realize that this question was posed purely for comedic purposes. However, illicets a genuine question about God's power: Does the omipotence (all powerful nature) of God create connundrums? Often the question is posed in relation to creation and strenght (ex., "Can God make a rock so big that He can't lift it?").
The question exposes a common misconception about God's power: the belief God can do anything. It is surprising to some, but there are things God can't do. God can't sin. He can't do the uniwse. He can't do anything that is against His nature, and it’s a good thing.
God's Natures in Harmony
Whie God is omnipotent (all powerful), He is also omniscient (all knowing), omnipresent (present everywhere), omnisapient (all wise), and more. He is also perfectly just, perfectly righteous, perfectly merciful, loving, and gracious.
These aspects of God's nature exist in harmony. God can't make a burito too hot for him to eat for several reasons, not the least of which is that He is wise enough not to do so. As you can see, the issues of burrito temperatures and rock mass in relation to God’s ability are hypothetical and largely inconsequencial to the order of the universe.
Justice+Love=Grace
However, it is the harmony of God's natures that profoundly affects much more important issues like salvation. For instance: God is perfectly loving and perfectly righteousness. His love means that He loves the whole world unconditionally (John 3:16), but His righteousness means that he cannot be in relationship with sin.
God's justice requires that sin be punished. A debt must be paid for wrongdoing. Yet, God loves every person, regardless of our sin. This is why Jesus died for us. His justice required the death penalty, but his love required reconciliation. It is because of this intersection of justice and grace that Jesus came to earth, lived a perfect life and took on the penalty of humanity's sin. He paid our sin debt on the cross, so that we could be restored to right relatioship with God. Love and justice come togeher as grace. It is this unearned favor of God, this atoning sacrifice that is free to you and I, though costly to Him.
It is by this grace that we experience the greatness of God's love toward us.