By Reinhold Ulonska (former overseer of the BFP)

A friend of mine once visited the famous wax works Madame Tussauds in London. The visit had made him tired. He saw a free chair which had obviously been serving to some wax figure for a time, and took a seat. Since he was very tired and the air was thick, he fell asleep. Suddenly he woke up – he heard voices. A group of travelling English ladies was standing around him, discussing. Apparently they were looking in the guide for the meaning of that strangely lying figure in that chair. Due to the modern clothes he could not be a historical person. Neither could he be a famous person from artistic or political realms because nobody knew him. All of a sudden our friend heard one of the ladies say: “Certainly this is the work of an apprentice, look how badly it’s done. Everybody, even with bad eyes, must recognize that this is an artificial wax figure. The other figures seem alive, but this one is totally unnatural.” At this point our friend could not keep himself anymore. Carefully he opened his eyes and stood up. With a horrified scream the closest persons jumped back and yelled: “He’s alive! – He’s alive! – He’s alive!”

One can imagine the horror. People thought, this figure was badly made and seemed dead – but suddenly it moved and by that showed that it was alive.

The apostle Paul brought the Gospel of Jesus Christ into a world filled with idols. He tried to convince the people of his time, that his God was not in competition with the many idols. “As heathens,” he said, “you were violently drawn to the silent idols. But I proclaim a God who lives, who reveals himself, who speaks.”

God is not silent. God speaks and reveals himself in the lives of the people as the living Lord. When we look into Holy Scripture, we realize that God has at all times revealed himself to the people as the living and speaking God. He spoke to Adam. – He spoke to Noah. – He spoke to Abraham. – He spoke to Moses. The fact that God is alive, is supposed to be experienced by the people. Our God is not a silent idol. Our God is not an invented figure and His word is not just theory. God speaks!

Source: Ulonska R. (1993). Geistesgaben in Lehre und Praxis. 4. Auflage. Leuchter Verlag eG.