None Like Him
None Like Him (2016) by Jen Wilkin
God is different to us and that’s a good thing.
That’s the big idea that Jen Wilkin explores in None Like Him.
As with all of Jen's writing, she does not hold back in urging us to humbly examine our own attitudes and view of ourselves in light of a holy, perfect God. Most importantly, though, she encourages us to lift our gaze from ourselves and fix it upon Him.
The Desire for Control
Nothing has brought out my desire to be like God more than becoming a mother. From meticulously researching prenatal vitamins, right through to needing to know exactly what’s gone into our children’s food or the exact chemicals in the paint which was going onto their bedroom walls (yes, that was me). My desire to meticulously research and control my children’s environment and whole lives was a clear indicator that I subconsciously didn’t fully trust who God says He is. I wanted to know all that He knows. I wanted to be like Him.
Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that we shouldn't be thoughtful, attempting to make the best decision we can with the information available to us. Rather, I am talking about an obsessive desire to seek limitless knowledge and control, which led me not to a place of peace, but one of anxiety. As Jen states, I was “casting my anxieties on the internet, which cares for no man”:
“There is a difference between healthy learning and information gluttony: one is about being fully human, and the other is about craving limitlessness. Our insatiable desire for information is a clear sign that we covet the divine omniscience. We want all the facts, but as finite beings, we are not designed to have them. And so, not surprisingly, unmeasured consumption of information brings us not increased peace of mind, as we had hoped, but increased dissonance.”
Recognising Our Limits
This omniscience, which I so clearly coveted (and still do sometimes to this day, as my Google search history will reveal) is just one of the ways Jen outlines that God is different to us, and why that’s a good thing - she also beautifully outlines how He is infinite, incomprehensible, self-existent, self-sufficient, eternal, unchanging, omnipresent, omnipotent and sovereign.
Maybe you have not struggled with seeking limitless knowledge. For you it may be that you pride yourself on being independent (only God is self-sufficient), or you struggle to trust God with the future (only God is eternal).
A Call to Humility and Worship
Whatever it is for you, on reading this book, you can not help but be humbled. Humbled by “our limits in light of our limitless God”, and a right response after being humbled, is worshipful reverence and awe, i.e fear of the Lord. As Jen writes:
“How long will you strive with your Maker? How long will you seek the highest place? Jesus Christ went to the lowest place so that you and I might have fellowship with God. Therefore, God has exalted him. Therefore, humble yourself. What is more beautifully humbling than relinquishing control?”
A Book for Every Christian
I would encourage all Christians to read this book. One of the things I particularly love about Jen’s writings is that she takes complicated biblical truths and makes them so very accessible, without diluting the richness of the message, which is a rare skill. Thus, if historically you’ve found deep Christian books difficult to wade through (I know I have at times, particularly during the little years of motherhood), Jen is your woman!
None Like Him - Contents:
Introduction: On Becoming a God-Fearing Woman
1 Infinite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
The God of No Limits
2 Incomprehensible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
The God of Infinite Mystery
3 Self-Existent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
The God of Infinite Creativity
4 Self-Sufficient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
The God of Infinite Provision
5 Eternal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
The God of Infinite Days
6 Immutable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
The God of Infinite Sameness
7 Omnipresent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
The God of Infinite Place
8 Omniscient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
The God of Infinite Knowledge
9 Omnipotent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
The God of Infinite Power
10 Sovereign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
The God of Infinite Rule
Conclusion: Fearful and Wonderful . . . . . . . 153
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Scripture Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
