How can God who is unlimited appear as a limited stone image? (PK answered 24)
Answer Podcast:
Question – How can God who is unlimited, appear as a limited stone image?
Answer– Because of His unlimited power.
If we say that God is unlimited and then we say that God cannot do something then we are basically saying He is not unlimited, He is not omnipotent (all powerful). If God is truly all powerful and can do anything, then although He is unlimited He can manifest Himself as the limited also. So to say that God cannot manifest in a limited stone form is to limit God. People argue that if we depict God in a limited image then we are limiting the unlimited. But if we say that God cannot manifest in a limited form, which is accessible to us, then is it not also imposing limitation on God?
In other words, if we are saying that God cannot do something, that God cannot manifest as an image, then we are limiting God’s omnipotence by saying so. We have no right to limit God. God is all powerful and He can do whatever He wants. Because of His merciful and loving nature He chooses to manifest in a way that is accessible to us. So God remains unlimited always!
An analogy can be given here. For example, president of a country is a very big and powerful person, guarded by a whole fleet of people, and it is very difficult to even have access to such a person. Now say the president has a grandson, and one fine day when the president comes home, he starts playing with the grandson. While playing, the grandson pushes the president and he falls down. Then the grandson climbs on top of him and like that there is a loving reciprocation between them. So how is this possible? That is because the president voluntarily, in order to have loving relationship with grandson, chooses to go down. President cannot go down by force of a small child nor he can be demanded to do like that but out of love the president can do that. Similarly, God loves all of us! He is inaccessible to any of us but because He loves us and He wants us to love Him, although He is unlimited, he manifests in a way in which we can perceive Him.
If God manifests in an unlimited form, because our vision is limited we will not be able to perceive or comprehend Him. So in order to give us access to Himself, He manifests in a limited form, but still He remains GOD! That is the true glory of His un-limitedness.
We should not just depend on logic when trying to understand how God manifests as a deity; rather we should understand the logic of love. By dry heartless logic, we will never be able to understand How God manifests Himself as the deity. But when we understand through the logic of love, we can understand how a small three year old child can knock down president of a country and make him bow down. Similarly, through the logic of love we can also understand how God, although He is unlimited, He manifests as a limited form, as deity, and still retains the unlimited power.