God is Self-Sufficient

For as long as the Middle Ages, engineers and mathematicians have hypothesized the possibility of a perpetual motion machine. How amazing would it be, they theorized, if we could have a boundless supply of energy, with no need for refueling or maintenance! 

The problem that these engineers, and every engineer to follow in their footsteps, face is that a perpetual motion machine is impossible; for one, there is no earthly material that can go forever without wearing out, and no power supply (like wind, water, fire, etc.) that will be consistent and eternal. And then there is a second problem: no machine on earth can start itself. To be a true perpetual motion machine, this creation would also have to start itself–no outside interference needed. And that, these philosophers have grumbled, is impossible.

And it is impossible for humans. But, as the Lord Jesus reminded his followers:

“With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26; NKJV). 

I do not mean to compare the LORD God to a machine; He is everything opposed to cold, emotionless, unfeeling machinery. However, I am reminded of Him when I think of the perpetual motion machine because He, in a way, is very similar to one.

The LORD God is not the same being as you or I. I can’t tell you what He looks like, any more than I can describe what a summer breeze looks like; although, much like the wind, God is very visible in His handiwork and impact on things around Him. But the LORD did not need another being to create Him. Like the impossible perpetual motion machine, He did not need any outside force to start Him or help Him. He does not tire, wear out, or need refueling. He has existed and will continue to exist throughout all time. He tells us that He is “…the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End” Revelation 21:6 (NKJV). 

I take this to mean that God is eternal and all-powerful; He created us, and in Him we have our beginning and our end. However, it also reminds me of something else: that God is self-sufficient. 

God is not like the Disney character Tinkerbell, who needs our praise and worship to exist. When one of His faithful believers, Job, was struggling to understand God’s hand in his life, God reminded him, “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell me, if you have understanding” Job 38:4 (NKJV). By this, God reminds Job that He, not man, created the world–we played no role in it.

In a letter to the church in Corinth, the apostle Paul described God’s self-sufficiency with ours: “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything being from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God” (2 Corinthians 3:5, NKJV). What little independence we think we have actually comes from God! It is impossible for us to exist without Him. He does not need us at all, and that is beautiful!

How is that beautiful, you may ask? How beautiful that the Creator of the universe doesn’t need human beings at all? It is beautiful because it means that God chose to create us, give us life, and guide us, love us, protect us, and save us. He loves us because He wants to, not because He needs anything from us. His love is completely unconditional, unearned, and selfless. 

The most beautiful part of God’s self-sufficiency is that He wants us. His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, was sent to us–again, beings who God does not need to exist but wants to exist–to give us the hope of eternal life. And not because God had a whim to save us from mortality, but because He truly cares for us. The Lord Jesus tells us:

“Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom” (Luke 12:32; NKJV). 

Not only has God created us for no reason other than He wanted us and loves us, but He sincerely desires for us to be a part of His greater plan for the world, the Kingdom of God, which His Son will bring to the earth. And that Kingdom will be eternal, everlasting, and perpetual.