Many people wonder how God can be both infinitely beyond us and yet so close that we can speak to Him in prayer. It seems almost like a contradiction — the Almighty Creator of the universe, dwelling in unapproachable light, yet also living in the quiet of our souls. But this mystery is at the very heart of who God is.
God’s transcendence means He is not bound by time, space, or the limits of creation. As the prophet Isaiah says, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways” (Isaiah 55:8). God is above all things; He is the source of life itself. Nothing contains Him. When we contemplate the vastness of the cosmos or the order of nature, we touch a glimpse of His majesty — a God who is greater than all that exists.
Yet the same God who is beyond all creation is also immanently near. In the Book of Acts, St. Paul tells us, “He is not far from any one of us, for in Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:27–28). God is closer to us than our own breath. His nearness is not only a truth of theology — it is a truth of love. Through Jesus Christ, God has entered our world, taken on our human nature, and walked among us. In Christ, the transcendent God became touchable, knowable, and tender.
This is the mystery of Emmanuel — “God with us.” The Holy Spirit continues this closeness today, dwelling in every baptized soul and guiding those who open their hearts in faith. When we pray, when we forgive, when we love — God is there. He is not a distant deity watching from afar but a loving Father who abides with His children.
So we can say: God is above us in His majesty, yet within us by His Spirit. He is both the Infinite and the Intimate — the One who created the stars and also holds our hand in silence. To know Him is to live between awe and tenderness: the awe that bows before His greatness, and the tenderness that rests in His embrace.
May we never forget: the God who fills the heavens also fills our hearts.
When we feel distant from Him, we need only whisper His name — and He is already there.
— Fr. John Matthew, for Christian Way
