Does God Grow?

I have been considering the above question for over a week, following a Jay Shetty podcast, where the person he interviewed posed the question. “Does God grow?” It is an interesting concept. I learned from an early age that God is the Alpha and the Omega. He is and always will be. He is the same now and forever. I also learned that God created the concept of time when He created the universe with the Big Bang. I learned that humans were created in the image and likeness of God. As another quote I came across notes, “Life wants to move and grow.” Humans change and grow because we have life – we are living and breathing. If we believe that God is also living and breathing, then we have to admit, like ourselves, God not only moves but he also grows.

But what does that growth look like? Was God once a baby like us, and now is in some stage of adulthood (I’m talking more about His untangeable form vs. His personhood of Jesus)? Let’s start with why He may have created the universe. I learned that “God made man to know Him, love Him, and serve Him in this world, so that man can be happy with him forever in heaven, ultimately sharing in His divine, everlasting life.” Yet, why did he create the universe to be so vast and full of diverse lifeforms?

Some people say that God created the universe out of loneliness. I don’t agree with that. God was complete without us – three persons, one God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He doesn’t need or require company to continue His existence. Similar to humans, if we are honest with ourselves. We don’t need people’s company – we want it.

This leads me to support what most people think the reason God created the universe – love. Some say that God created the universe to express His love and receive love back, outside of Himself. However, I want to add an additional thought to this idea. God is a creative being – any doubt, just go walk in the forest, scuba dive in the ocean, or stargaze at night. He is an artist and a mad scientist. The universe is His canvas. He did not create the universe out of just curiosity, but He is life, and He wanted to grow and leave seeds of Himself throughout creation. To make things interesting, he gave humans and angels free will – to choose to obey, serve, and love Him freely. He also gave humans actual bodies. If God doesn’t have a “body” as well, then we wouldn’t be created in his image and likeness. However, what His actual “body” looks like is anyone’s guess (again, talking more about his intangeable form vs His personhood of Jesus). We also wouldn’t be in his image and likeness if God does not grow.

In my previous post, I noted that in tai chi, the master is still perfecting his technique even though he is no longer the student. To us and our fragile, frail, and flawed humanity, God is perfect, as our Master. However, what if, in God’s mind, He is still perfecting Himself through His creations? Making something so perfect and complete in a way we cannot grasp or fathom?

Consider the creative genius that created the universe. Consider the fact that no human, animal, or plant is exactly the same. Even cloned animals have a different personality then its original! Every human and animal has a unique and different soul as well as a body. We were not created to conform into perfectly identical beings. We weren’t created to be static and unchanging. We are a part of life, and life wants to grow and move. Therefore, God must grow. However, His growth is not confined to our limited human view of it. God’s ability to grow and change is limitless.

Until next time!