“Enough. I am a god! You are, all of you are beneath me, you dull creature, and I will not be bullied by...” In one of the funniest scenes in the 2012 movie, The Avengers, Loki’s self-deluded speech was interrupted by the Hulk who grabbed him by the ankles and with one hand bashed him repeatedly to the floor like a rag doll. He then left him crumpled in (yes, in not on) the floor, dazed and stunned. The audience roared with laughter and almost missed the best line as the Hulk walked away mumbling “Puny god.”

If it wasn’t so sad our puny understanding of the nature of God would be funny. When we talk about God do we understand that He is not bound by time, space or matter? Do we realize that, as Einstein’s Theory of Relativity predicts, the fact that time, space and matter are interrelated and came into existence at the same time requires a Creator who is not bound by time, space or matter? Yet we say God does not exist, or if we believe He exists then we make him a puny god like Loki.

3000 years ago Solomon knew that Yaweh (The Great I Am) was nothing like the puny gods of man’s making. When he finished the temple he repeated and expanded on the explanation he had given to Hiram about the fact that God is not contained by a temple made with hands. In his dedication speech Solomon began by praising and thanking God for His great promise to David and then declared for all to hear “O Lord, the God of Israel, there is no God Like You in heaven above or on earth beneath” (1 Kings 8:23; 2 Chronicles 6:14). Then after asking Him to continue His blessings he continued praising God by saying, “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built!” (1 Kings 8:27; 2 Chronicles 6:18). Talk about understanding God, and recognizing his own insignificance. Solomon boldly declared to the nation, “Since heaven and earth cannot contain God then neither can this puny temple that I just finished building.”

What about us? Do we recognize the power and majesty of God and bow in humble admission of our own insignificance? Or, are we busy constructing our own temples, churches, and approaches to God under the delusion that we can contain Him? Do we worship Yahweh or some puny cartoon version? Think carefully before answering.