In Search of the Burning Bush

 

 

"For those who believe, no proof is necessary. For those who don't believe, no proof is possible." -- Stuart Chase 

 

 

Why do some people hear God, or see visions, or receive revelations and others don't? I have a friend who longs for such an experience. "I always hear, 'I've had this dream,' or 'God spoke to me,'" he says, "so I wonder what's wrong with me? I've prayed for that, too, but it hasn't happened." He thinks there is a God, but he wants a burning bush in order to be sure. "I have faith that there's something bigger than me that cares about what's going on," he adds, "but because I have no direct experience I'm not totally sure."

 

He, like most of us, is terrified at the thought of non-existence, so he wishes for assurance beyond a doubt. I don't know if there is such a thing.

  

Saint Teresa of Kolkata received a revelation from God, on a train of all places, and that vision or inner voice was profound enough and overwhelming enough to convince her to devote her life entirely to the destitute and forgotten. And yet, from her own writings we know that she spent most of the rest of her life searching to find that experience again. She got close only one more time, and after that, had to live on faith that the Jesus who revealed Himself to her on the train was still there and still loved her with a totality that only God can manage.

 

How many of us get even one "burning bush" experience? Most of us are asked to believe on faith. I like to think of life itself as a miracle. Leaves are miracles. A molecule of water is certainly a miracle. The human eye is a marvel of engineering, architecture and beauty. All are irrefutable evidence of intelligent design.

 

But when you get right down to it, how many miracles are enough? A sermon I heard recently drove this point home. The Apostles actually watched Jesus perform one miracle after another, and yet, when He was taken away by Roman soldiers, they all ran away in fear. They also had their doubts. But in their saner moments, they chose to dedicate their lives to their belief.

Faith itself is a gift from God, but I believe he'll bestow that gift if we ask him to. In the meantime, if you have those odd moments of doubt, don't be too hard on yourself. You, too, are human.