Our faith in god must always hold two contradictory truths in tension: He is both far off and close by. God is “way out there,” not just in heaven but beyond heaven and earth, outside the vast universe. Hr is so big and distant that He has to stoop down just to inspect a distant galaxy or supernova, much less little old me on planet earth.
But this great, far off God is also so close as to be always right next to me and even living inside me. Big God condescends to be involved in my petty personal problems. Faith says He is big enough to solve my problem and small enough care about it. Power and Love combine.
The mystery of the Christian faith is balancing the contradictions: holiness and Love, justice and mercy, sin and grace, law and Gospel, glory and grace, Almighty power and intimate compassion, big and small. The Incarnation resolves the tension and all becomes clear to us when we see Jesus, the God-man.
Now we can pray: “Our Father in heaven.” Is He able to answer my prayer and does he care enough to do so? He is God in Heaven = He can; He’s my Father = He will.