When Seeing is Believing
You and I are no different from all of the other people around us. All of us function best in this reality: “seeing is believing.” Yes, this is an old cliché. How old does not matter. It’s true. We believe what we see. At least for a while. Yes, we are that fickle.
Because seeing is believing, we have great difficulty to be convinced God exists.
We cannot see Him.
We cannot hear Him.
Therefore, God must not exist.
But what does the word evidence mean? If there is evidence of something-there is proof. Evidence is confirmation, it is testimony. You knew there was evidence for God didn’t you? That is why evolution explains life on earth as it does. Life on earth organized itself, over time. It did not need God. Believe this and the proof that God exists is nullified. Pretty good trick, if the deception can be maintained.
But God does exist.
We do not need to see Him. It helps to remember, what God told Moses in Exodus 33:20
But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.”
He does not need to speak to us-while we live on earth.
God reveals Himself and speaks through His creation. All things on earth and in the heavens reveal to us who God is. In creation we see the POWER of God. In creation we see all the “things that make Him God.”
It is also said that, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” I would like to share 7 photos with you; the equivalent of 7000 words. Each photo is evidence that God not only exists, He has power and He is God. It is my wish that you move from seeing to believing in 7 pictures:
Oh, how the Meadowlark can sing!
Evidence #1: The Meadowlark…
it migrates from Mexico, it’s call is the theme song of prairies, it has feathers and flies, and where does yellow come from?
This one wanted no part of being near me…but then this is perhaps the best view of a skunk-running away-tail down.
Evidence #2: The Striped Skunk…
it shares the prairie with the Meadowlark. There is power in the skunk, a mega dose of it. Skunk spray is its main defense against predators. While we have somewhat identified skunk spray as sulfur compounds, there is nothing more overpowering than skunk spray. We cannot explain it.
This handsome Rooster did not want to fly as he headed for cover…he jogged.
Evidence #3: The Ring-Necked Pheasant…
a southern China native, this bird has become common in prairies and agricultural land in the United States. It is evidence photo number three for two reasons: God’s power is evident in the ability of the Ringneck to live and thrive on an entirely different continent from its origin. Second reason, how could this bird become so brilliantly colored-if it developed its coloration over time?
Do not be deceived by the trees in the background…they are not in the wet prairie.
Evidence #4: A Wet Prairie…
this prairie is almost always in various stages of wetness. The wetland plant cattail is visible in the foreground. The land for this prairie is located at the edge of a ridge of sand which used to be the beach of a massive lake which formed the Red River Valley-Lake Agassiz. When this lake existed is not the point…it did exist. When the water receded, the beach of sand remained. Ever since, rainfall percolates through the ridge of sand and saturates the land parallel and slightly lower to it. We know this land as the Red River Valley. Because this land remains wet almost all year round, it cannot be farmed. It makes marvelous habitat for Meadow Larks, Striped Skunks, Savannah Sparrows, Wilsons Snipes, and Ringneck Pheasants. God knew we would farm everything if we could, so He put a ridge of sand along the richest farm land in the world to save a habitat for the creatures He made. You should see the beautiful farm land only a mile to the west.
The top of this wooden fence post is about 8 inches in diameter…about half a Savannah Sparrow.
Evidence #5: The Savannah Sparrow…
is one of the most numerous songbird species found in North America…yet few of us see it. How does a tiny bird like this thrive? It is only 4.5 to 5.5 inches long and its wingspan ranges from 8 to 8.5 inches. Drop your jaw. Not yet-after this next fact: Savannah Sparrow young are in the nest just 8 days. But during these 8 days the mother sparrow must gather 10 times her weight in food to feed herself and her young. Is it a coincidence that wet prairies have an abundance of insects?
It is a vast understatement to say this bird is cool. It is so much more.
Evidence #6: Wilson’s Snipe…
Hear the winnowing call of the Wilson’s Snipe and you will think you are in a jungle. Do you notice how chunky this bird looks? Its muscle. This snipe has the largest pectoral muscles of all shorebirds. Nice you say. But how fast can you fly? This bird has been clocked at 60 mph! One more…the tip of the Wilsons Snipe beak is flexible, it can slurp up small aquatic invertebrates from the mud without opening its beak…there is much more to know about this bird, but the power and divine nature of God are clearly seen in just two facts.
He was on the road…I am too slow with the camera, and he is too quick.
Evidence #7…Bird Flight…over a wet prairie…
flying birds always demonstrate the power of God, in power, and divine nature. The beauty and mystery of bird flight has fascinated humans for centuries. Fascination comes from the “hands” of God. (This rooster definitely did not want his photo taken.)
We have seen evidence of the power and divine nature of God. There are uncounted examples of evidence still remaining. The world and universe are filled with them, all point to God. Seeing is believing.
There are things about God that people cannot see—his eternal power and all the things that make him God. But since the beginning of the world those things have been easy to understand. They are made clear by what God has made. So people have no excuse for the bad things they do. Romans 1:20