My desire to know God is genuine and motivating. I may approach it differently than most people, but nonetheless it is my quest, not anyone else’s.
The thing about seeking God is His elusiveness. In the OT He had a hard time distinguishing Himself and had to often remind people that He was indeed “The LORD God to the land of Israel.” (Ezekiel 7:2 ESV) In the NT His presence was demonstrated in the Christ, who himself, had difficult establishing his credentials.
I suppose there are a variety of ways God could make Himself known absolutely. Instead of sending destroyers to the city of Jerusalem, He could have sent plagues like He did to Egypt and perhaps the people would have remembered. However, the evidence indicates that they would most likely not. I often wonder what they received from their other gods, that they did not receive from Yahweh that would make them more devoted to those gods than to the one true God.
Jesus could have done more miracles. It seemed that healing people on every hand in his early days did nothing but publicize his ability to heal the sick and diseased. ((Matthew 4:23-25) Changing water into wine did nothing for him.(John 2:6-11) Cursing fig tress was not a clincher. (Mark 11:12-14) Even feeding thousands with mere morsels was not enough. (Luke 9:10-17) And God knows the Cross – yes even the Cross – did not ultimately convince all people.
I am not sure what my expectations are when it comes to convincing evidence, or intimately knowing God. I suspect in reality it is an internal issue. A changed life, a servant life, a life characterized by doing the right things and doing things right. Would a sign of some kind help? Probably not any more than it helped people in the past.
It is an issue of faith. An issue that challenges my heart and my mind daily. I suspect that is why Jesus taught us to pray with this line included, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.” (Matthew 6:9-13) He knew that if God were to lead us to the wilderness as he was led, the outcome could be quite different.
Therefore, what is the bottom line. Besides admitting my quest? Continuing to ask, seek and knock, (Matthew 7:7) will indeed find the door open.
Thank you Father for the mystery of the divine.
