ALIVE
TO THE UNSEEN

Topics: Blindness; Experiencing God; Spiritual Perception; Spiritual Vitality

References: John 3:1–16; 1 Corinthians 2:9–16

Humans can perceive only 30 percent of the range of the sun’s light and 1/70 of the spectrum of electromagnetic energy. Many animals exceed those abilities. Bats detect insects by sonar; pigeons navigate by magnetic fields; bloodhounds perceive a world of smell unavailable to us.

Perhaps the spiritual or “unseen” world requires senses activated only through some sort of spiritual quickening. As Jesus said, “No one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” And the apostle Paul said, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

Both expressions tell us that some truths are available only to a person who is spiritually alive.

—Philip Yancey, “Seeing the Invisible God,” Books and Culture (May–June 2000)