God Who Acts

 Scientists tell us that we think in images, and that if we don't have an image, we cannot really know.  St. Thomas Aquinas said that man is a "knower," not a "thinker"  -- that is, knowledge begins in the senses and then we think about what we know from observation.

I would venture to say that for most people, our image of God is that of Someone Who has given certain rules for mankind, and now He is "resting," sitting in heaven from which viewpoint He is mostly observing man's behavior.  

On the contrary, however, the Bible is not a book of maxims, rules, and inspirational quotations.  It is a book of history.  Our God is a God Who Acts.  And our theology is one of recital of what God has done.  He acted in the life of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph....in the life of Moses and of the Israelites.  He acted in Joshua and the Judges, in the life of David, of Solomon, of the kings of Israel, in the lives of the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, and the prophets.  He acted in the life of Mary and Joseph, in Elizabeth and Zachery, in John the Baptist, and in Jesus.....in Peter and Paul, John, Andrew, and the rest of the Apostles.  He acted in Nicodemus at night, in Ignatius of Antioch and Polycarp, in St. Augustine and in Pope John Paul II .... and in US!.

When the Jews come together in celebration of Passover, they recite the saving actions of God in their lives, and acknowledge with thanksgiving what He has done for them.  When Christians come together in worship, they read history and give thanks for what God has done for them in Jesus Christ. 

So our image of God must change from that of a remote and distant figure watching us act to that of Someone Acting here and now in our lives today.   We call that "Action of God in our lives" the Holy Spirit.  He speaks TO us and IN us, revealing God to us in the events of our lives.  And He speaks FOR us to God when we hardly know how to pray (Romans 8:28).  

Jesus promised to send us the Advocate -- a legal term designating our representative in a court of law:  Someone who advises us how to act and how to speak -- and Someone who speaks on our behalf.  He is not "resting;" He is very active on our behalf every moment of our lives.  

Once we change our image of God, we will begin to "see" Him in our lives and then to "know" Him, not from what we have heard, but from what we have experienced.  As Job put it:  My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you!