- Feb 5, 2002
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In every moment in history, in everything that occurs, there is the hand of God.
In my last article for the Register, I wrote about the major difference between perception and seeing, using the example of the demons whom our Lord encountered in his life. We read of these encounter in Matthew 8:29, Mark 1:24, and Luke 4:34.
These foul creatures from hell were able to recognize exactly who Jesus is — the Son of God — while those whom he encountered daily, those who knew him growing up in Nazareth, are shocked by his words and actions and do not recognize him (Matthew 13:54-57, Mark 6:1-6, Luke 4:16-30, John 4:44.) They see him, but in their hardness of heart, they do not perceive who he really is.
Yes, there is a great difference between seeing and perceiving. This is especially true in our spiritual lives. How can we perceive the presence of God in our lives? How can we move from merely seeing to perceiving the actions of the All-Holy One in our lives? There are, of course, many ways, but I would like to propose that we might be able to do so in one specific manner: perceiving the Lord’s presence in Church history.
How can we perceive the Lord’s presence in history? I have to admit that my passion is Church history and the history of theology, much more so than theology itself. It took me a long time to realize that fact.
Continued below.
Perceiving the Working of God in History
In my last article for the Register, I wrote about the major difference between perception and seeing, using the example of the demons whom our Lord encountered in his life. We read of these encounter in Matthew 8:29, Mark 1:24, and Luke 4:34.
These foul creatures from hell were able to recognize exactly who Jesus is — the Son of God — while those whom he encountered daily, those who knew him growing up in Nazareth, are shocked by his words and actions and do not recognize him (Matthew 13:54-57, Mark 6:1-6, Luke 4:16-30, John 4:44.) They see him, but in their hardness of heart, they do not perceive who he really is.
Yes, there is a great difference between seeing and perceiving. This is especially true in our spiritual lives. How can we perceive the presence of God in our lives? How can we move from merely seeing to perceiving the actions of the All-Holy One in our lives? There are, of course, many ways, but I would like to propose that we might be able to do so in one specific manner: perceiving the Lord’s presence in Church history.
How can we perceive the Lord’s presence in history? I have to admit that my passion is Church history and the history of theology, much more so than theology itself. It took me a long time to realize that fact.
Continued below.
Perceiving the Working of God in History
