A Relationship with the Unseen
In my Christian walk, I have often been frustrated with trying to communicate with Jesus or spend quality time with Him. Christians talk about having a “personal relationship with Jesus Christ” and “walking humbly with our God”. But how is it really possible to have a relationship with someone that we cannot even see, hear, smell, touch or taste. To add to the difficulty, if Christianity is true, a mediocre, wishy washy, not sure how it works, relationship with Jesus will not do. Our relationship with Him not only has to equal the relationships we have with people in the ‘seen’ realm, but it has to surpass them and it must do so in the unseen realm. In other words, we must at least relate with Jesus that we do not see, better than with the people that we do.
If I think about it for a little bit, this task seems quite impossible. Does the bible really imply that I can communicate and relate better with someone that I cannot hear or see as opposed to someone that I can? That sounds paradoxical. Is not “seeing people” and “hearing people” what relationships are all about? Actually, I think that’s really the question here. And to answer it, I think, we need to analyze more specifically the role that the senses play in having a relationship. In that context I can phrase the question in another way. Are the senses part of the goal that is a relationship or are they part of the means to building a relationship? If they are only the means, then it is possible that there are even better means. If they are the goal in themselves, then we are in trouble.
With just a little bit of insight, it will quickly become evident that the senses themselves are only the means to a relationship. Let’s take hearing for example. When a husband hears his wife talking to him, he is not really after the sound that is entering his ears, he is much more interested in what she is trying to say, in what she wants, in what she is thinking. To prove that, let us say that his wife is actually a very well designed android that has no feelings or thoughts but looks and sounds very much like a human with feelings and thoughts. That android can say whatever it is programmed to say and it can sound very good, but ultimately, no relationship can exists. Its just sound. The husband does not care at all what the “wife” is saying because he knows there is no essence to her words. In reality then physically hearing what his wife has to say isn’t that important after all. It is knowing what is behind the sounds that matter. It is intimately knowing his wife, her thoughts, her wants and her feelings that is important, not the physical means by which that knowledge is made known.
Let’s move on to another sense, the sense of seeing or sight. When we love someone we say we want to ‘see’ them. What exactly does that mean? Is it that we want to see how well they are looking or is it more that we want them to be in our presence? To answer that, let me give another example. Would a mother be satisfied seeing her son on a high definition live video screen all her life? Would she not trade the world to also see him face to face and be with him? Why would that be so? I mean ultimately, in the both situations, the light beams entering her eyes are very much the same. I think it’s because really, she hardly cares how he looks; she just wants him to be where she is. She wants to share in his circumstances and just wants to be with him and be near him. She wants him to be in her presence. ‘Seeing’ someone is much more about being (sharing circumstances, etc.) with them with them than it actually is about seeing them.
Now don’t get me wrong. The seeing and the hearing are beautiful things as well. The means are beautiful, but they are still the means. Giving flowers to the girl of your dreams is a beautiful thing, but the end goal is winning her heart and expressing your love. Walking down the aisle is the beautiful thing, but the end goal is the man at the end it.
Now we come back to Christianity. Jesus asks us to have a relationship with him; one that is even better than the relationship we have with the people around us. We have shown so far that “seeing and hearing” are not really the essence of relationship. Instead, in the case of seeing and hearing at least, it seems that knowing the other person and being in their presence are much more valuable.
For the experienced Christian, I believe I have made my point already. Being with Jesus and knowing him are well established biblical principles. Jesus promised us that He “will be with us until the very end of the age.” He is with us now. He is sharing in our circumstances. He is near us. We don’t have to see him. He is here. There is not much sense asking “let me see you”, since the main point of seeing as we have shown is being with the person and to share something, anything, with them. Also, knowing Jesus is paramount to the faith; knowing what he wants from us, what pleases Him and what displeases Him. There is no sense is saying “speak to me Oh lord” and to expect some sort of audible response. Everything we need to know about God, about his wants and desires has already been made known to us and is available through His Word.
Therefore, it is very possible to have a relationship with the unseen. One just can’t use the same means. In the seen realm, we use light and sound. In the unseen realm, we use faith in Jesus and His promises and the study and reading of His Word. And ultimately, His promises and His Word express Him infinitely better than light and sound could ever express another person.
If I think about it for a little bit, this task seems quite impossible. Does the bible really imply that I can communicate and relate better with someone that I cannot hear or see as opposed to someone that I can? That sounds paradoxical. Is not “seeing people” and “hearing people” what relationships are all about? Actually, I think that’s really the question here. And to answer it, I think, we need to analyze more specifically the role that the senses play in having a relationship. In that context I can phrase the question in another way. Are the senses part of the goal that is a relationship or are they part of the means to building a relationship? If they are only the means, then it is possible that there are even better means. If they are the goal in themselves, then we are in trouble.
With just a little bit of insight, it will quickly become evident that the senses themselves are only the means to a relationship. Let’s take hearing for example. When a husband hears his wife talking to him, he is not really after the sound that is entering his ears, he is much more interested in what she is trying to say, in what she wants, in what she is thinking. To prove that, let us say that his wife is actually a very well designed android that has no feelings or thoughts but looks and sounds very much like a human with feelings and thoughts. That android can say whatever it is programmed to say and it can sound very good, but ultimately, no relationship can exists. Its just sound. The husband does not care at all what the “wife” is saying because he knows there is no essence to her words. In reality then physically hearing what his wife has to say isn’t that important after all. It is knowing what is behind the sounds that matter. It is intimately knowing his wife, her thoughts, her wants and her feelings that is important, not the physical means by which that knowledge is made known.
Let’s move on to another sense, the sense of seeing or sight. When we love someone we say we want to ‘see’ them. What exactly does that mean? Is it that we want to see how well they are looking or is it more that we want them to be in our presence? To answer that, let me give another example. Would a mother be satisfied seeing her son on a high definition live video screen all her life? Would she not trade the world to also see him face to face and be with him? Why would that be so? I mean ultimately, in the both situations, the light beams entering her eyes are very much the same. I think it’s because really, she hardly cares how he looks; she just wants him to be where she is. She wants to share in his circumstances and just wants to be with him and be near him. She wants him to be in her presence. ‘Seeing’ someone is much more about being (sharing circumstances, etc.) with them with them than it actually is about seeing them.
Now don’t get me wrong. The seeing and the hearing are beautiful things as well. The means are beautiful, but they are still the means. Giving flowers to the girl of your dreams is a beautiful thing, but the end goal is winning her heart and expressing your love. Walking down the aisle is the beautiful thing, but the end goal is the man at the end it.
Now we come back to Christianity. Jesus asks us to have a relationship with him; one that is even better than the relationship we have with the people around us. We have shown so far that “seeing and hearing” are not really the essence of relationship. Instead, in the case of seeing and hearing at least, it seems that knowing the other person and being in their presence are much more valuable.
For the experienced Christian, I believe I have made my point already. Being with Jesus and knowing him are well established biblical principles. Jesus promised us that He “will be with us until the very end of the age.” He is with us now. He is sharing in our circumstances. He is near us. We don’t have to see him. He is here. There is not much sense asking “let me see you”, since the main point of seeing as we have shown is being with the person and to share something, anything, with them. Also, knowing Jesus is paramount to the faith; knowing what he wants from us, what pleases Him and what displeases Him. There is no sense is saying “speak to me Oh lord” and to expect some sort of audible response. Everything we need to know about God, about his wants and desires has already been made known to us and is available through His Word.
Therefore, it is very possible to have a relationship with the unseen. One just can’t use the same means. In the seen realm, we use light and sound. In the unseen realm, we use faith in Jesus and His promises and the study and reading of His Word. And ultimately, His promises and His Word express Him infinitely better than light and sound could ever express another person.
posted by Mark at 7:42 PM
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