A Short Break -- Jeremiah 29:13

For the next few weeks, I'll be taking a break from Galatians or reporting from it sporadically. This is not an indication that I've been struggling with some deep meaning in the book, just that my readings have been a bit more of a meander the last few weeks. And now...

"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart."

This, I take it, is a guarantee. God understands that people have trouble believeing in Him. And He has understood this for millenia. The current skeptical age with its firm belief in science and its firm disbelief of anything spiritual, is not the first skeptical age. The ancient Greek philosophers had some troubles believing. There was never an age without its doubters. This is, since the Fall of Man, the natural state of mankind I think. To doubt.

There is nothing God can do to dissuade us from our doubts. That is, there is no miracle He can bring about that would convince someone who prefers not to be convinced. To a degree, then, apologetics are useless. Those who would be persuadeed by them are not those who most need persuading. (Just to a degree, mind.)

What God offers here is something different. It is the personal relationship. This is the one thing that can convince someone who is other minded. It is the one thing that clears away the darkness that can sometimes haunt the Christian who is unsure (and every Christian goes through those periods of doubt -- it goes with the territory. Remember, it's natural.).

The proviso is that we must do the seeking with all our hearts. It can't be done half-heartedly. This should not stop anyone from trying to find Him. You won't miss Him if you try.

Galatians 3:5

"He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?"

Now, there are several strange things in this verse (I'll tackle two) and I find that there are a lot of strange things throughout the rest of the chapter. We'll see.

First, the clearest meaning of the verse, I think, is "He (God) therefore gives you the Spirit and works miracles among you not by the things you do to fulfill the laws of Moses, but by "the hearing of faith." The part I left in quotes is a bit difficult for me. That faith supersedes fulfilling the law seems clear, but what is "the hearing of faith"? If the verse had said "hearing the gospel," I would have understood. Here's the dilemma: I can understand the section two ways. Perhaps neither is right. "Hearing the words of God," or "listening to God's voice with faith." In the first, the words are the agent that brings out miracles and the Spirit. In the second, it is the attitude of the listener, the faith the listener has, which makes all the difference.

Another difficulty is the fact that we need the miracles and the Spirit. Can't do without them. They are, after all, what comes after the Law. The supercede and surplant the Law. So it would seem imperative to that Christians continue to experience the Spirit and miracles. Yet (leaving aside for this post, the Spirit) it is so hard to find a good miracle. And I certainly do not mean things like "the miracle of birth" or "the miracle of a leaf unfolding." Those are nice, and may well be miraculous, but they also happen everyday whether you believe in God or not. I'm talking about miracles that don't occur unless someone gets on their knees and asks for them from God.