The Evidence of Things Unseen

How does one become so consumed in matters of faith? Moreover, how does one spend so much of one’s spare time doing unseen (prayer, meditation, reading, studying) at the sacrifice of things that are seen (sports leagues, social activities, general entertainment). Is the reason a result of some special calling in life or just being kind of crazy? I liken the experience to those storm chasers that go around the country trying to encounter, measure and document tornadoes and their effects. In their case we see the exhilaration of the chase and the anticipation of the intersection of natural and unnatural events. The results of those intersections can be visibly seen by buildings being flattened in a few seconds and cars being launched hundreds of yards in the air like projectiles. After which the location of such an intersection has been literally transformed into a completely changed environment. In my case, the chase has been in pursuing those events that I call the intersections of natural and supernatural events. Not supernatural like superman scaling a tall building or spiderman stopping a speeding train. No, I am talking about those events that change hearts and/or directions of one’s life in an instant that can only be attributed to a force, a faith or an entity larger than ourselves. These intersections of the natural with the supernatural cannot be seen with the naked eye – but there is evidence left behind that they have happened. Relationships are repaired, behaviors changed, joy returned to a drained and empty soul are all evidence of an event that happens unseen to the naked eye. The author of the book of Hebrews calls that faith. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). I call it God working behind the scenes if you will, covertly, silently declaring His willing involvement in each of our lives. This writing is to give testimony of those intersections of the natural with the supernatural as I have experienced them in my own life and understood them. I feel compelled to do so because I believe that recognizing these intersections is first, to understand that God is deeply involved in our lives whether we acknowledge it or not and second, that knowledge is the gateway to living a life of experiential faith that is vibrant, alive and fully aware of God’s active presence in our life! It is my experience that this kind of faith is rare in the evangelical church of today and desperately needed.

In order to begin the story of my faith journey I tried to think of the earliest evidence of God’s personal involvement in my life. It was at the end of what I believe to be my first day in the first grade. My class was being led down the cascading concrete stairs that connected the academic buildings to the bus parking lot. There we were released to board our assigned bus for the hour plus ride home. The joy of heading home after having survived my first day quickly vanished when I realized every yellow and black bus looked the same to me and I had no idea which one was mine. I can still remember the fear of being alone and the feeling of helplessness. I did what any first grader would do, I began to cry as loud and hard as I knew how in the middle of the parking lot. The next thing I remember is standing at the bottom of those concrete stairs looking up at the stream of kids running down to the parking lot in their green and white uniforms with bookbags and lunch boxes bouncing in the air alongside of them. Next to me was the nun in charge telling me to look for my brother. Evidently, I had composed myself enough to tell her I had an older sibling in the school, and she had assured me he would eventually show up. I can still visualize him bounding down those steps in full stride, careful not to misstep which would have been a huge embarrassment to take a tumble in front of his classmates. My heart was filled with joy at my sighting of him and I immediately knew everything was going to be all right now. Nothing was said to me by my brother that I can remember. He just grabbed me and loaded me on the bus with him and we headed home. I felt safe, connected and protected by my big brother. That connection that I felt to my brother that day was not fully understood at the time, but I knew I would be lost without it. It was the love of a brother. I still feel that same way more than 60 years later, even though we have been estranged for more than 20 years. I am not sure exactly what caused the divide. I have tried many times over the years to reconcile to no avail. I still hope the divide between us can be closed someday. I miss my brother. I feel the loss of that broken connection every day. Part of me is missing without it. I offer this experience with my brother to you as an example of an intersection of the natural with supernatural. There is nothing more natural than a relationship between brothers. What is supernatural is that that bond still exists between brothers regardless of the quality of the relationship. The feeling residing in each of our souls is the evidence of things unseen. What is unseen is what I believe is the bond that reflects the connection between us and our common Creator. I believe that even in the hurt of broken relationships we need to recognize the connection to our faith – not that God causes the hurt or even desires it – but it is that connection to each other that reflects our connection to God. Those connections of heart and soul endure over a lifetime, regardless of the circumstances and are not dependent on whether we physically see them or not. This past year our nation has come through a season that has recorded the worst pandemic in our recent history. Many of us have lost loved ones, friends and relatives. But we still feel connected to them. Far beyond our natural understanding our souls long for their presence. It is one of those intersections of the natural with the supernatural, connections that go beyond the grave and life as we currently understand it.