Today, many Christians find themselves troubled by sad thoughts about the Kingdom of God in our time. They see so much evil, so much that is ungodly, in today’s world, that somber worries about the future of Christ’s Church refuse to vanish from their hearts.
For example, when they turn their gaze to Russia and see how atheism exercises a terrible reign of terror there, how it persecutes churches, putting pressure on them, how it wants to tear all faith from the hearts of the people, and when believers then ponder that this situation has lasted so long and no end is yet in sight, then it appears to them as a loss of faith. In these situations, they see a victory over good, the victory of atheism over faith in God, yes, almost the devil’s victory over God.
And when their gaze wanders to their immediate surroundings, they also see here, to a great extent, the passing of the old, devout era of faith. The youth appear completely different, less believing, less devout. And what was scarcely known in the past is now seen everywhere: people who assert that they do not believe at all, people who openly speak of Christianity being outdated, that a time will come when humanity will shape its own life according to its free will, without the Church, without faith, without God. And such assertions again appear to these Christians as signs that evil has grown in the world. And then doubts and the disheartening question arise: whether evil might not ultimately triumph in the world, whether evil in the world might not ultimately gain such power that even God can no longer resist it.
We want to concede that such doubts and questions can indeed arise for people when one views the matter only externally. But in reality, such doubts and fears are accompanying phenomena of a weak faith, signs that one has not yet fully delved into the reality of the world of faith, that although one bears the name of a Christian, one does not live from the abundance and richness of Christ’s teaching.
Truly, a genuinely believing person sees the world in a completely different light. Their faith makes them clairvoyant and clairaudient, enabling them to see and hear things that another person does not.
We know from our daily lives that there are people who have sharpened their senses to such an extent that they see things that less experienced individuals overlook: for instance, a hunter sees the dark tracks of a capercaillie, or hears the quiet call of a bird, where others see and hear nothing yet. A believing person, however, is someone whose senses are attuned to the divine. Yes, faith, as it were, gives them new senses to discern God’s essence and working in nature and in the human heart. Equipped with these new senses for the realities of the spiritual world, they see the world in a completely different light. They do not look only at the external side of things, but look into things, yes, through things, everywhere within things and behind things they see the face of God. Everywhere in things, they perceive God’s working, the fulfillment of that which the Savior said: “My Father is at work until now, and I am at work as well.” So clearly and tangibly do they perceive this working of God in the world that for not a moment can a genuine doubt arise in them that it is God who ultimately guides and steers all things in the world and who, with a strong hand, holds everything in the world together.
This working of God is seen by the believer first and foremost also in human hearts. They see it first in the hearts of those who appear as good people even to the earthly person. And thanks be to God, even in our time there are still many of these good people. People in whom God’s grace has so overcome the weakness and sinfulness of human nature, that they truly live the life of children of God! People in whom, in a glorious manner, that is fulfilled of which the Apostle Paul writes so inspiringly: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Pt 2:9-10).
But also in the hearts of those people whom the ordinary person readily calls evil, the believer still sees God’s activity. Perhaps, the ordinary eye does not yet see anything good. But in the soul, God’s grace has already begun its work. There, goodness is already germinating, taking root, growing, and branching out! Just a little more patience. A little more glorious warming sun, which God’s or some person’s love allows to shine upon that soul, and in that soul too, from the blossoms of good intentions, the fruits of good deeds ripen. And God’s grace is effective even where it can no longer be expected at all. It is effective even in Bolshevik Russia. And even if the godless were to burn all icons there, completely destroy all houses of God, they would still not be able to hinder God’s activity.
This is like in nature outside. An autumn storm shakes all leaves and blossoms from the trees, rips off even dry branches, so that it seems as if all life has been destroyed, and winter covers with rain and snow even the last blade of grass, so that it seems as if all life has been stifled, yet beneath the cover, life force remains. They merely gather anew, to emerge with greater strength, the longer they were bound.
So let the storms of godlessness rage over the world and sweep away all the blossoms and leaves of religious life, they will not destroy religious life itself. And if the barbarism of modern neo-paganism were to bury the Western world’s surface as if under a diluvian blanket of mud, then mysterious divine forces would retreat into the depths of the human soul, just as creative natural forces hide themselves deep within the earth in winter. Their emergence will be all the more vigorous, the longer they have been restrained. No long winter can prevent spring from coming.
This knowledge of a believer about God’s activity in the world allows them to stand with a firm, peaceful heart amidst the roaring waves of global events. They know that there is someone who, with a strong hand, leads and steers all world events, who is not deterred by the clamor of war and the global uproar of so-called “new worldviews”. They know that there is a truth that no worldly lie can falsify. With this perfect, as it were divine peace, great believers have persevered through the greatest dangers, even mortal perils. Even in death, this peace has not abandoned them.
And world history has proven them right, that ultimately faith triumphed over unbelief, goodness over evil, God over Satan.
Faith, yes, the knowledge of God’s activity in the world gives the believer the security that for the good person all things work for good, that sacred optimism that God’s enterprise, and along with it their own undertaking, will triumph. This is the victory that conquers the world, your faith.
Church Life no. 1, 1935, Vol. III, pp. 1-2.