Why I Believe in God

We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks!
         For Your wondrous works declare that Your name is near. Psalm 75:1

Today’s Reading; Psalms 74-76; Romans 9:16-33

Some of you who have been reading along might wonder why I believe in God. What proof is there? How can I believe in something that cannot be touched, heard or seen?

Well I can tell you why.

Several years ago when I was in the depths of my doubts I looked around and asked myself the same question. There is so much misery in the world. There is so much pain and tragedy. No matter how hard we try it seems as if humanity is more inclined to destroy than preserve. Look at all of the violence and the pollution. Look at what we have done to the planet. Look at what we do to each other and ourselves.

There must not be a God right? If there were we wouldn’t be surrounded by all of this sadness and destruction.

When I presented myself with these same arguments I couldn’t help but to see the other side. When I looked into the eyes of children I could see a pure spark of goodness and wonder. When I looked into the eyes of teenagers and adults I saw the glimmers of faith and hope behind the lenses of pain. When I walked by homeless people in Downtown Los Angeles I saw love light up their eyes when we spoke.

When I meditated at the beach I saw every possible color painted across a miraculous horizon. I felt the warmth of a nurturing sun and the softness of countless grains of sand. When I walked to work I saw clusters of palm trees growing at angles so as to allow space for each of them to breathe. I saw streets with canopies of trees that met in the middle without touching; as if by some unspoken agreement.

I have never failed to see order in the chaos, truth in the lies, and hope in the pain of this world. No matter how dark it gets there is always a glimmer of faith within everyone that gives us the courage to get up out of bed and go out into the world.

I never stopped seeing love, and I never stopped loving. For me, love is the beginning of connecting to God. And no matter how bad things seemed or how terrible things got, love never disappeared. It was everywhere and in everything.

I’m not sure what the wondrous works were that the Psalmist spoke of. But I know that the wondrous works that I see are founded in love.

God is love.