The other morning, as we were on our way to bring Jonathan and Jane to school, there was a thick fog that enveloped the Santa Clara valley. It was so thick I could barely see more a few feet ahead of me. And as we drove into it, there was water condensation on the car’s windshield and rear-view mirrors. And yet, as we went through it, it looked like it wasn’t even there at all.
Rainbows are beautiful and I saw several of them on our recent trip to Hawaii. They are sometimes but a vague formation on the horizon. At other times, they are bright and distinct arcs suspended against the blue sky. They sometimes seem to pierce in and out of the clouds and, at other times, the arcs look superimposed on the clouds. I have even seen multiple rainbows which are simply awesome. And yet, to get the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is impossible for the rainbow moves or dissipates the closer you get to it.
Matter is tangible and palpable to the senses. It can be touched, often seen, smelled and sometimes heard. But as you drill down into its component parts, it eventually dissipates and disappears and become invisible to the senses. At its smallest level, matter is but the endless beating of energy, almost like it is not there at all if one tries to observe it.
And so it is with He who made the fog, the rainbows, and the particles of matter. I do not see nor touch Him but I can see Him in the wonders He has caused. I can see that there is a lot that is wrong in the world. But I can see and feel His presence in the many more things that are going right in this world. And the latter far outweigh the former. Many seek His presence in the heavens or in the after life. I can sense His presence and His wondrous deeds in my here and now. For I was not, and He made me to be. I could have been blind to all the beauty and goodness around me but He made me to see. I could have been alone and so lonely but He gave me friends and family to keep me company. I could have just been bored to death but He gave me to explore an endless marvel of a paradise on this earth.
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.
~Psalm 146
Asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come,
Jesus said in reply,
“The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed,
and no one will announce, ‘Look, here it is,’ or, ‘There it is.’
For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.”
Luke 17:20-21