Larry King was once asked whom he would interview if he could choose any person across time. He quickly responded, \u201cJesus Christ\u201d and noted that he would ask if Jesus was indeed virgin born. \u201cFor to me,\u201d explained King, \u201cthat would order all of history.\u201d Likewise, renowned agnostic philosopher Bertrand Russell was once asked what he would say if he found himself standing in front of God. Russell immediately answered that he would assert, \u201cYou did not give us enough evidence.\u201d<\/p>\n
Truly, many of us have entertained similar scenarios. What would I say to God if I stood face to face with Him? For many, that image brings to mind an emotionally charged encounter, a chance to voice confusion, disappointment, or anger with premeditated words. For others it is a moment worth envisioning, even if they imagine it to be a moment far beyond words. Still for others, it is above all, a moment that just seems far away.<\/p>\n
Now consider another scenario illustrated by a day in the life of G.K. Chesterton. Standing on a London street corner, Chesterton was once approached by a newspaper reporter who inquired, \u201cSir, I understand that you recently became a Christian. May I ask you one question?\u201d \u201cCertainly,\u201d replied Chesterton. \u201cIf the risen Christ suddenly appeared at this very moment and stood behind you, what would you do?\u201d Chesterton looked the reporter squarely in the eye and said, \u201cHe is.\u201d<\/p>\n
I would love to have seen the look on the reporters face at that reply \u2014 maybe he thought it to be a non-answer, maybe he looked behind him. In any case, the Christian teaching of Divine Presence is peculiar \u2014 largely rejected, neglected, or distorted into something it isn’t. Na\u00efve and sentimental forms of pantheism grow increasing popular, but in seeing all things divine, divinity itself is expelled from the world entirely. The omnipresence of God is quite the contrary. It means, as Chesterton noted, that God in His incorruptible glory is right here, right now, a Presence we can ignore but not evade. It means that at no other point in time or place can God be nearer to you than He is now. King David once asked of God, \u201cWhere can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?\u201d Which means, that the moment of \u201creckoning\u201d need not be something we perceive to be far away. The moment of standing before God with our questions, disappointments, pains and joys is right now, closer than we realize. The question then becomes, do you really want to see God? For those who have recognized this longing, Christ himself has much to say.<\/p>\n
In his celebrated Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, \u201cBlessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.\u201d (Matthew 5:8) And while the phrase \u201cpure in heart\u201d means as Soren Kierkegaard stated, \u201cTo will one thing,\u201d that is, to wholly and sincerely pursue God alone, it also means more. The Greek word for \u201cpure\u201d depicts a clearing of muddied waters, a ridding of all that pollutes. To be pure in heart is to be free from guilt and sin, to be free from what is false. It is to approach God, as C.S. Lewis says, with the prayer which precedes all prayers: \u201cMay it be the real I who speaks. May it be the real Thou I speak to.\u201d [1]<\/p>\n
Dear friend, God is near! In seeking and in seeing His face more fully, may we proclaim with all the wonder and fear of Jacob, \u201cSurely God was in this place and I knew it not.\u201d (Genesis 28:16-17)<\/p>\n
____________<\/p>\n
1. Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer (New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1964), 82.
\n____________<\/p>\n
Copyright \u00a9 2003 Ravi Zacharias International Ministries (RZIM). Reprinted with permission. “A Slice of Infinity” is a radio ministry of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Larry King was once asked whom he would interview if he could choose any person across time. He quickly responded, \u201cJesus Christ\u201d and noted that he would ask if Jesus was indeed virgin born. \u201cFor to me,\u201d explained King, \u201cthat would order all of history.\u201d Likewise, renowned agnostic philosopher Bertrand Russell was once asked what […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2144,1899,200,2145],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6629"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6629\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.churchedge.com\/illustrations\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}