It seems strange to think … that God speaks to us in a literal book of ink, paper, and binding. Or that the pastor's sermon is used by the Holy Spirit to create faith in our hearts. These are rather spectacular claims for what goes on in an ordinary church service, with its weakly sung hymns, crying babies, and fidgeting people in their pews. It is hardly credible to think that such a mundane and frequently dull setting could be the scene of such high and holy spiritual presences.
…
The prophet Isaiah—in the middle of national apostasy, political, collapse, and and divine judgment concludes, "Truly You are a God who hides Himself" (Isaiah 45:15). To say God is hidden, of course, does not mean that He is absent.… The hiddenness of God is one of the most profound themes [in] what is termed "the theology of the cross," which might be better thought of as the spirituality of the cross. It has to do with Christ's work, His presence, and how we draw closer to Him. The theology of the cross also deals with the difficulties and hardships that Christians must live through in an utterly realistic and honest way.
…
The prophet Isaiah—in the middle of national apostasy, political, collapse, and and divine judgment concludes, "Truly You are a God who hides Himself" (Isaiah 45:15). To say God is hidden, of course, does not mean that He is absent.… The hiddenness of God is one of the most profound themes [in] what is termed "the theology of the cross," which might be better thought of as the spirituality of the cross. It has to do with Christ's work, His presence, and how we draw closer to Him. The theology of the cross also deals with the difficulties and hardships that Christians must live through in an utterly realistic and honest way.
Gene Edward Veith, The Spirituality of the Cross, 69-70
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