Glimpsing God

In many ways God is hidden. In many other ways we can a glimpses of God and that is terrific. I have been reading Rex Chapman's "A Glimpse of God" (SCM, 1973). Although written over forty years ago, and so in some ways in the language of is time, it offers insights that remain highly relevant. The first chapter deals with the matter of doubt. We sometimes see doubt as the opposite of trust, but that is not so. Rather doubt is a crucial part of trust. Faith is far more resilient than being something that cannot cope with doubt. As Chapman says: "To limit God's grace to those of us who are so sure of our faith and so clear in our decisions would probably be to price most of us out of the market. Like the kingdom of God faith the size of a mustard seed has hidden potential."

He comments about the place of the "doubt that makes us wonder what what on earth God is going to get up to next." We need to allow doubt to contribute constructively to what we do and are. There are many places where we can catch glimpses of God. When that happens we will be inspired, even if we have been struggling to catch that glimpse.