Article January 18, 1993 Issue

Good—omnipresent?

When good seems very far away, we have a wonderful discovery to make about where God is.

Manfred Söllinger

Original in German

It's difficult at times to conceive of such a thing as omnipresent good. A number of often-used expressions bear witness to this. For example, one speaks of a "Godforsaken area" or says that someone is "forsaken by God and men."

Jacob, too, once found himself in such a "Godforsaken" frame of mind. The Bible tells us he had deceived his father and taken what rightfully was due his brother and was fleeing for his life. On the first evening of his journey, Jacob had a dream in which he saw "a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it." And above it, he saw God, who spoke to him: "Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land." Then, when he woke, Jacob realized, "Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not." He experienced God's omnipresence; he had become conscious of it.

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