2 Corinthians 4:1-6: in context

Paul describes how people come to see and know God. He speaks of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, and of how the minds of unbelievers are blinded so that they cannot see its light. But then he tells how the light dawns: for God, who said, let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. The same God who created light at the beginning shines in the heart to give the light of knowing him in Christ.

Paul's description of how we come to know God is striking: it is God's own act, like his creating of light. At creation, God said, let there be light, and light shone out of darkness by his word. And Paul says that the same God shines in our hearts, giving us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. Our coming to see and know God in Christ is not merely our own discovery or achievement; it is God's creative act, the God who made light shining in our dark hearts to give us to see his glory in Christ. As light at creation was God's doing, so the light of knowing God in Christ is God's doing in us. This tells us that our knowledge of God in Christ is a gift, not our own achievement. We might imagine that we came to see and know God by our own insight, our own searching, our own discovery. But Paul says it is God who shone in our hearts; the light by which we see the glory of God in Christ is given by God, as truly as the light at creation was his creating. If we see and know God in Christ, it is because God has shone in our hearts to give us that light. This is his creative gift, not our achievement. This is humbling and reassuring. It is humbling, for it means we cannot take credit for seeing and knowing God; it is his gift, his light shining in our hearts. And it is reassuring, for it means that our knowledge of God rests on God's own act, not on our uncertain insight; the God who commanded light at creation has shone in our hearts, and his light is sure. It also gives hope for those who do not yet see, for the God who shines in hearts can shine in theirs; the light that dawned in us can dawn in them, by the same creative act of God. And it directs our praise: if we see the glory of God in the face of Christ, it is because God shone in our hearts to give us that light, and to him belongs the thanks. This calls us to receive our knowledge of God as his gift, and to give him the thanks. The God who said let light shine out of darkness has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ; and our seeing and knowing him is his creative gift, not our achievement. Let us receive it with humility and gratitude, giving God the thanks for the light he has given us to see his glory in Christ, and hoping that the same God who shone in our hearts will shine in the hearts of others who do not yet see, giving them too the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Do I imagine that I came to see and know God by my own insight and searching, or can Paul's teaching that God, who said let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ, teach me that my knowledge of God is his creative gift and not my achievement, moving me to receive it with humility and gratitude, giving God the thanks for the light he has given me, and hoping that the same God will shine in the hearts of others who do not yet see?