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| Q: | Many years ago when I was studying the Catholic faith as an adult and trying to decide whether to be baptized or not I went to church one day and was praying. There were two statues on my right and left of Mary and Joseph and a large crucifix with Jesus on it on the altar. As I was praying I looked at the cross and saw Christ's lips moving very fast. I thought perhaps I was tired, hungry or dizzy and so looked at the other two statues. They were not moving but were still. It continued for about 3-5 minutes and I realized that I was really seeing this. It scared me and I ran out of the church thinking Christ wanted me to be a nun. Finally, I realized that it was probably the Holy Spirit trying to help me decide to become a Christian. I spoke to the priest about it, but he didn't want to say much except that he felt it was true. That was many years ago and I have since embraced the Lutheran faith and am very happy. What do you think about this experience in regard to biblical thinking? | ||||||
| A: | My primary response is to thank and praise our gracious Lord because he led you to know and confess your Savior as a professing Christian and a Lutheran as well. Here we are speaking of the greatest miracle of all in our lives, one we often fail to mention among supernatural wonders. Concerning the experience you had on that day many years ago: It is not possible for me--or any other human being--to verify precisely what happened or why. God has not promised to communicate in such a way with people, nor has he attached promises of blessing to this kind of phenomenon as such, so we cannot cite a word of God in the matter. God is certainly able to do such a thing but has not revealed it as his will or desire to do so. Any human being who claims to know with certainty that God was communicating or what he was communicating is speaking on his or her own, not as a mouthpiece of God. Let us give thanks for what we do know and leave the rest to our gracious Lord. It seems obvious that you will remember that experience for the rest of your life--and you may "interpret" it as seems best to you. As long as you remain faithful and are growing in the law and gospel revealed in Scripture, your fellow believers will be content. There are reasons we would strongly prefer to receive information from the Bible rather than from a direct vision or revelation from God or an angel. With the vision comes the possibility of deception ("Is this Satan masquerading as an angel of light? Did I receive the message I was supposed to? Did I hear or understand it as I should have? Do I remember it accurately?"). With the unchanging written Word of God comes certainty and the ability to return to it to note it has not changed. And it remains the tool of the Holy Spirit to change hearts and renew lives and eternal destinies. | ||||||
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