Hidden worlds
Part 2: Faith imparts treasure beyond value – but only if we value spiritual treasure
Yet the claim of faithful people is that there is a whole new world to discover. It is immediately available. It is a world enfolded within and integrated with the physical world. We pass the door to this world every day; it is not hidden; we simply have not noticed it. Within this world, things look different, and we become different. The people in this world live by different values and they have access to hidden resources that others cannot see where on earth they are getting them from. Yet the people in this world also live in the world that we all know – but the resources they gained in their faith world don’t disappear into thin air with the pop of an imaginary balloon when employed in the world of the physical, material universe. The gifts found in this faith world turn out not to be make-believe magic; they can literally be found once you know how to read the clues and follow the signs. Contrary to the view that it’s a world for the inadequate, those who come and go between the world of faith and the physical world discover spiritual gifts of grace that strengthen them in wisdom and love beyond measure. It is an Aladdin’s cave of riches – yet anyone mishearing and bursting in hoping for wealth finds an empty room, but those who see with eyes of faith discover gifts too precious for words – perhaps in the way the soaring vault of a cathedral is not empty, but full of holiness.
Yes, I know that those of us who visit this world of faith are not great advertisements for it. We are too casual and too quick, rushing in and grabbing the first thing to hand, to satisfy our hunger, eager or anxious to return to our muggle world of everyday concerns. We are not good at dwelling in the world of faith till it fills every morsel of our being. Except at times we do, and then we know that we have placed our faith well, and we partake fully in the banquet God has prepared for us. Even we, who know the world of faith, do not fully understand it; it is too simple and too profound, epitomised in a banquet in a morsel of bread and a sip of wine.
Spiritual Devotion 