“I am, and you are not!”

God said to Moses, “I Am Who I Am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: I Am has sent me to you.” (Exodus 3:14)

It has taken me a long time to understand God’s answer to Moses. Moses asked God what name he should use to tell the Israelites who sent him. God says, tell them, “I Am Who I Am.” For the longest time, I thought, “I Am” was a nonsensical way to describe who he is. It would have made more sense to me if he had said, “I am the God of your Fathers,” or “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” but, “I Am?” Really?

Really! How would you expect God to answer? He, who always was and always will be. The omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent God of all. He who hung the stars in the sky and breathed life into each of us. “I Am” describes his eternal power and unchanging nature. He is the only god, and there is no other. He is not one thing today and another thing tomorrow. The God who appeared to Moses is the same God who lives in us today. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever and is the only one who can claim eternal divinity.

When we introduce ourselves, we say, “I am John Smith,” describing our temporary, earthly identity. But God is not temporary and needs no more description than “I Am.” In a powerful way, God is showing the difference between himself and man, as in, “I Am… and you are not.”

He is! And we are not. Makes perfect sense to me now.