I’m sure you are aware of the phrase: ‘Seeing is believing’!
In reality it isn’t always the case! In the context of the Christian faith we live by ‘faith and not by sight.’ (2 Corinthians 5 v 7)
In Exodus 33 we read of Moses asking to see physically the glory of God. The Lord responded by saying that Moses could be aware of His glory and presence but no one can see His face. When God’s glory passed by Moses, he hid in the cleft of a rock and only saw the back of God.
It reminds me of Psalm 63 v 2 where the aspiration ‘to gaze on the Lord in His sanctuary and to see his power and glory,’ is expressed. In reality we may not see God face to face, but as a person of faith we can hear of and see God’s handiwork all around us.
I am not a scientist, I am a theologian specializing in the mysteries of faith. Can I prove that God exists or not exist? No. Can I fully understand how creation has been formed and how it is sustained? No. Do I know what the future holds in the context of climate change and how the world has changed over many years? No.
However, the bible gives us some insights into creation, the maintaining of seasons and what hope we may have for a future here on earth and in heaven.
In the book of Acts we read about four individuals whose sight and understanding had been challenged and changed. In Acts 8 we read, following the death of Stephen, that the disciple Philip was called into the city of Samaria.
In verse 6 ‘the crowds welcomed the message of Philip because they had heard about the miracles he worked or because they saw him. From verse 9 a man called Simon was also impressed with Philip and believed and followed him. Simon saw what Philip was able to do through the power of the Holy Spirit and offered money to perform similar miracles but was quickly rebuked by Peter and John.
In Acts 9 we read of the experience of Saul on the road to Damascus and how he heard the voice of Jesus and consequently lost his sight. The Lord spoke to Ananias making him aware of Saul, who in his own prayers, had seen Ananias in a vision. Paul then recovered his sight and was filled by the Holy Spirit.
When we seek to know God personally we need to be encouraged to see God’s hand at work in creation, people’s lives and to experience His personal presence. In Luke 18 v 42 we read of the blind man miraculously regaining his physical sight. In Acts 4 v 18 – 20 Peter and John spoke too many about what they had ‘seen and heard.’
As men and women of faith we cannot see God face to face but we can experience His presence in many other ways that makes our faith real in what we ourselves have ‘heard and seen.’
Jesus is our light, the one in whom we follow as disciples. In 1 Timothy 6 v 11 we are called to be ‘filled with faith and love, patient and gentle.’ Then from v 14 – 16 we read that Jesus ‘is immortal, whose home is inaccessible light, whom no man has seen and no man is able to see.’
So may we ‘see more clearly’ to maintain a ‘strong faith.’
Graham
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