If I mention the name "John Tyler", could you tell me anything about him?
Though I'm sure many men have had the name, the most famous was the 10th
president of the United States. He was born 221 years ago - so how could we be
expected to know anything about a man whose presidency was among the more
obscure in our history. There are no ties to his past today, are there?
Amazingly, there are. According to a story on Yahoo News today, two of this
president's grandsons are still living. John Tyler, at the age of 63, became
the father of Lyon Gardiner Tyler in 1853. Lyon Gardiner Tyler, at age 71,
fathered Lyon Gardiner Tyler, Jr. in 1924; four years later another grandson of
President Tyler was born, Harrison Ruffin Tyler. Both grandsons are still
alive; three generations spread over more than 200 years. I find that
remarkable.
Curiosity drove me to look at my own family's history. I found a direct
ancestor who was born in the same year as John Tyler (1790), but he was not my
grandfather. He was my great-great grandfather.
We all have ties to the past. Few of us, however, have direct knowledge of
people who lived more than a hundred years ago. Even the Tyler "boys" named
above never knew their famous grandfather.
So why should any of us have a realistic expectation of knowing God? The Book
which tells of His characteristics and deeds was written more than 2,000 years
ago; some parts of it are much older than that. Why should we believe that God
would still be to us what He was to people of the past?
J.I. Packer, in his classic book Knowing God, points to the answer: "The link is
God Himself. For the God with whom they had to do is the same God with whom we
have to do" (Intervarsity Press, 1993, page 76). Packer made that statement as
he discussed God's unchanging nature, a very important truth for us to know
about God.
When Moses asked the Lord at the burning bush what His name was, this curious
answer was given: "... Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I Am' has
sent me to you. ... This is my name forever" (Exodus 3:14,15). "I Am"? Is that
a name? In fact it is the basis of the name we know as "Yahweh" or "Jehovah".
God is not limited to the past, nor does He dwell only in the future. He is "I
Am".
The psalmist spoke of God's eternal existence in this way: "But You are the
same, and Your years will have no end" (Psalm 102:27). Moses gave this
description of God's timelessness: "Before the mountains were brought forth, or
ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to
everlasting, You are God" (Psalm 90:2).
The connection of the Divine with people continues. Before leaving the earth,
Jesus, God in the flesh, made this promise: "... and lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). It is a relationship based on
faith (trust) in Him, but it is a real relationship nonetheless.
I wish I could have known my great-great grandfather, but those ties from the
past are too distant. But I am blessed to be able to know his God; that same
God is here today, always in the present.
Come to the light God offers! Study His word, the Bible. Worship Him in spirit
and truth (John 4:24). Get in touch with us if you'd like to discuss these
ideas further.
Though I'm sure many men have had the name, the most famous was the 10th
president of the United States. He was born 221 years ago - so how could we be
expected to know anything about a man whose presidency was among the more
obscure in our history. There are no ties to his past today, are there?
Amazingly, there are. According to a story on Yahoo News today, two of this
president's grandsons are still living. John Tyler, at the age of 63, became
the father of Lyon Gardiner Tyler in 1853. Lyon Gardiner Tyler, at age 71,
fathered Lyon Gardiner Tyler, Jr. in 1924; four years later another grandson of
President Tyler was born, Harrison Ruffin Tyler. Both grandsons are still
alive; three generations spread over more than 200 years. I find that
remarkable.
Curiosity drove me to look at my own family's history. I found a direct
ancestor who was born in the same year as John Tyler (1790), but he was not my
grandfather. He was my great-great grandfather.
We all have ties to the past. Few of us, however, have direct knowledge of
people who lived more than a hundred years ago. Even the Tyler "boys" named
above never knew their famous grandfather.
So why should any of us have a realistic expectation of knowing God? The Book
which tells of His characteristics and deeds was written more than 2,000 years
ago; some parts of it are much older than that. Why should we believe that God
would still be to us what He was to people of the past?
J.I. Packer, in his classic book Knowing God, points to the answer: "The link is
God Himself. For the God with whom they had to do is the same God with whom we
have to do" (Intervarsity Press, 1993, page 76). Packer made that statement as
he discussed God's unchanging nature, a very important truth for us to know
about God.
When Moses asked the Lord at the burning bush what His name was, this curious
answer was given: "... Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, 'I Am' has
sent me to you. ... This is my name forever" (Exodus 3:14,15). "I Am"? Is that
a name? In fact it is the basis of the name we know as "Yahweh" or "Jehovah".
God is not limited to the past, nor does He dwell only in the future. He is "I
Am".
The psalmist spoke of God's eternal existence in this way: "But You are the
same, and Your years will have no end" (Psalm 102:27). Moses gave this
description of God's timelessness: "Before the mountains were brought forth, or
ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to
everlasting, You are God" (Psalm 90:2).
The connection of the Divine with people continues. Before leaving the earth,
Jesus, God in the flesh, made this promise: "... and lo, I am with you always,
even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). It is a relationship based on
faith (trust) in Him, but it is a real relationship nonetheless.
I wish I could have known my great-great grandfather, but those ties from the
past are too distant. But I am blessed to be able to know his God; that same
God is here today, always in the present.
Come to the light God offers! Study His word, the Bible. Worship Him in spirit
and truth (John 4:24). Get in touch with us if you'd like to discuss these
ideas further.
Timothy D. Hall
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