And I love this artist. I love His complexity, His layers, facets, and sides. I love and fear the turbulence and heat of His “moods,” if that is what we can respectfully call them. He blows my mind and rightfully so. He does not fit in any of our nifty boxes. He is neither Catholic nor evangelical, charismatic nor Reformed. He shatters the stereotypes of the old-school fundamentalists and culture-current Christians with equal, breezy disregard. This One-in-Three torches towns, wipes nations off the face of the earth, then crushes the very instruments of His wrath, judging them for their excess of cruelty. He is untamed, unfathomable, unpredictable, yet utterly and infinitely good. This exuberant, flamboyant, violent Transcendence is a blazing furnace, a percolating cauldron of molten lava ready to blow. And when you wrap your arms over your head ready to cry out in terror, He touches your cheek, whispers your name, and tells you, “Don’t be afraid, I am your God, and you are my child. I will be with you always, even to the ends of the earth. I am your shelter, your strength, ever ready to help in time of trouble. Though the mountains may crack and tumble into the depths of the sea and its water roar and seethe, I am on your side, your strong citadel, your mighty God” (Psalm 46:1-3, author’s paraphrase). It’s difficult maintaining your balance around this God. He makes your head spin and your heart sing. He cannot be taken lightly or for granted.
The God Who Smokes: Scandalous Meditations on Faith by Timothy J Stoner
