27 “Now my soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But this is the very reason I came! 28 Father, bring glory to your name.”
Then a voice spoke from heaven, saying, “I have already brought glory to my name, and I will do so again.” 29 When the crowd heard the voice, some thought it was thunder, while others declared an angel had spoken to him.
John 12:17-29
Like anyone else, when I read the bible I try to put myself into it. Like what kind of Israelite would I have been? One of the ones that were screaming at Moses to take them back to Egypt? Or the kind that trusted in the God that had just delivered them from slavery with ten awesome plagues? And like anyone else I usually put myself in the good guys camp. I could never doubt God after seeing the angel of death come through Egypt, or the red sea parted, or water come from a stone, or you name it. Likewise in the scripture above. How could these idiots hear a voice from heaven and dismiss it so easily as thunder?
Then Tozer in his book, The Pursuit of God, says this:
Our thought habits are those of the scientist, not those of the worshiper. We are more likely to explain than to adore. “It thundered,” we exclaim, and go our earthly way. But still the Voice sounds and searches. The order and life of the world depend upon that Voice, but men are mostly too busy or too stubborn to give attention.
A. W. Tozer – The Pursuit of God
I’ve loved science since I was little. And that’s not a bad thing. Science in general isn’t bad. I believe my love of science and technology is a something God has placed in me that makes me who I am. The problem doesn’t lie in the fact that I see with the eyes of scientist it’s that my worshiping eyes are so dim. A loud voice from heaven may certainly sound like thunder, but if that’s all we hear then we’re missing something. Like listening to music in stereo but only the left side is working properly. Or watching an old 3D movie but with only blue colored lenses.
The natural man is one way to view the world, but what’s the other way? The bible says a lot about worship, but this is the key to me. Jesus outlined the proper way to worship God.
For God is Spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.
John 4:24
The right side of our stereo, the red lenses of our 3D glasses is our spirit. This is the aspect of ourselves (us modern day scientist) that we must exercise. We must look beyond the thunder and find the voice that caused it.
The facts are that God is not silent, has never been silent. It is the nature of God to speak. The second person of the Holy Trinity is called the Word.
A. W. Tozer – The Pursuit of God
Mighty Anchor 