We can all see that God exists (1)
• What we can see offers clues to what remains hidden
Army padres say that there are no atheists when you are under fire. Similarly a climb up Snowdon in N Wales, or nearer where I live, Pen y Fan or the Sugar Loaf, leave one breathless for more than one reason. These beautiful folds in the landscape, the hills and valleys, could not have just happened — not with such stunningly beautiful form and colour.
All around us are signs of God’s handiwork, communities of people looking out for people, and in man’s design and handiwork the inspiration of the Creator can be seen.
Sometimes it is seen in contrast. There is also brutal ugliness in shell-scarred ruins across the Middle East, the kidnapping and degradation of young women and the attempts by different religions to exert control over the lives of those where they are able to exert their malignant power. Growing opium and the black economy that results from the supply of street drugs destroy families and ruin lives even beyond the misery of the addicted users. Where the devil’s handiwork is most evident, God’s merciful and healing presence is like sharp relief in a dark picture.
The contemporary Passion Translation expresses clearly how what is visible points to the invisible:
…From the creation of the world, the invisible qualities of God’s nature have been made visible, such as His eternal power and transcendence. He has made His wonderful attributes easily perceived, for seeing the visible makes us understand the invisible. So then, this leaves everyone without excuse.
Romans 1:20 TPT
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