46
Abel, whose faith was praised and whose
gifts, his offering of the firstlings of his flock
(cf.
Heb
11:4), were therefore pleasing to God.
Religious man strives to see signs of God in the
daily experiences of life, in the cycle of the sea-
sons, in the fruitfulness of the earth and in the
movement of the cosmos. God is light and he
can be found also by those who seek him with a
sincere heart.
An image of this seeking can be seen in the
Magi, who were led to Bethlehem by the star
(cf.
Mt
2:1-12). For them GodâÂÂs light appeared
as a journey to be undertaken, a star which led
them on a path of discovery. The star is a sign of
GodâÂÂs patience with our eyes which need to grow
accustomed to his brightness. Religious man is a
wayfarer; he must be ready to let himself be led,
to come out of himself and to find the God of
perpetual surprises. This respect on GodâÂÂs part
for our human eyes shows us that when we draw
near to God, our human lights are not dissolved
in the immensity of his light, as a star is engulfed
by the dawn, but shine all the more brightly the
closer they approach the primordial fire, like a
mirror which reflects light. Christian faith in Je-
sus, the one Saviour of the world, proclaims that
all GodâÂÂs light is concentrated in him, in his âÂÂlu-
minous lifeâ which discloses the origin and the
end of history.
31
There is no human experience,
31
âÂÂCf. C
ongregation
for
the
D
octrine
of
the
F
aith
,
Declaration
Dominus Iesus
(6 August 2000), 15:
AAS
92 (2000),
756.
