Our world does not appreciate vulnerability. Neediness is rejected as incompetence, kindness is dismissed as unprofitable. We want a God who is almighty and invincible, a God who destroys evil in a flash and makes everything all right with a wave of his hand. We want a God who wakes us from our nightmares and transports us into a trouble-free world. And so God’s humility is not only frightening; it is also offensive. We prefer the kind of God we can soar up to and glory in. We don’t want to admit that our efforts to reach him are not only futile, but unworthy. God’s descent means we cannot come up to him; it is he who comes down to us! 

The good life, we are told, is about having it all together, moving up, being in first place; to know God, however, means the very opposite.