In our world today one of the most precious gifts the Father has given us is the gift of sight. With our eyes we can see a beautiful sunset, a brilliant red rose, and the faces of loved ones. Without the gift of sight our world would be one of total darkness – an unseen world. But have you ever thought that it is utterly remarkable how the invisible unseen forces in our universe dominate every avenue of our existence. With or without physical sight so much of the vitality of life depends upon the things we can’t see with our human eyes.
Consider the following: The air we breathe is essential for living. Without it we would die in a matter of minutes; yet it is invisible. The force that holds our planet Earth in orbit around the sun, gravity, again cannot be seen with our eyes. Whenever we turn on a light, radio, T.V. or one of the host of modern appliances in our homes, the energy source that makes them all work, electricity, is invisible to us. And yes even our thoughts are invisible and weightless.
And have you ever thought about the chair you are siting on? According to Kenneth Taylor: “Since it is true that atoms are mostly empty space dotted occasionally by weightless electrons with great distance between, it is also true that the chair you are sitting on is mostly nothingness, held together by the force of whirling electrons moving so rapidly that they cannot be crushed. No wonder the Bible says that the things that appear are made of things not seen.”1
And of course, the Scriptures recognize the importance of the unseen world for we read: “Therefore, we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).
The foolish person walks only by sight but we as Christians walk by faith in an unseen God, who is so real to us that we live our lives confidently believing that He exists. In contrast the Bible says: “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” (Psalm 14:1). As a Christian my belief in the unseen things and forces in our world, including God, is based on my knowledge that the unseen is often more real than the visible.
But did you know that even the atheist believes in the unseen? How so, you may ask? Well, most atheists believe in evolution which can be defined as “nobody times nothing equals everything.” Thus, the atheist believes that our universe came from nothing (which is unseen) and somehow sprang into existence. They then further postulate that living matter came into existence from non-living matter in a chain of events that went from amoeba, to mammal, to man or as I like to say from the goo to the zoo to you! And the catalyst for this incredible process is billions of unseen random evolutionary steps.
So, the question before us is not who believes in the unseen, since in reality we all do, but which worldview is more likely to be true. The atheist must indeed lead a lonely life believing that he came from nothing and when he dies he goes back to nothing. With no belief in an unseen God his destiny, or so he thinks, ends at the grave. But for the Christian, His God may not be physically seen, but in reality His love, power, and intimacy can be experienced with or without being seen, since His invisible Spirit and our invisible spirit are one in Christ.
While I thank God every day for my physical sight, I thank Him even more for my spiritual sight that can see Jesus even with my eyes closed!
1 Kenneth N. Taylor, Creation and Evolution (Wheaton, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 1977), pp. 29-31.
It is true that our material world contains all of these unseen forces but these forces are causes of the seen. While we do not see the air, we see it’s effect on the leaves in a tree on a windy day. We may not see electrical forces surging through the wires but we see the light that chases the darkness from a room or see the machine at work. Invisible to the eye is a force we call gravity but we feel it’s power every time we jump up or off a diving board into the pool.
In his stubborn sinfulness, the atheist holds down the truth in unrighteousness when he claims that there are no transcendent or supernatural entities, only material existence. That means no God, no abstract thought, no nonmaterial qualities such as love, honor, or laws of logic. But the existence of God is proven by the impossibility of the contrary. When the atheist tries to argue that all is material and there is no God, he must borrow from the Christian worldview by using the laws of logic. As VanTil said, he must sit in his dad’s lap to be able to slap his dad in the face. That is why the atheist is called a fool and his thinking is foolishness.
A worldview that denies the unseen is more than blind, it is morally bankrupt and evil. Our belief in the unseen is a matter of life and death, eternal that is.
The greatest gift of the unseen world is the Lord Jesus Christ who said, “Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.” We will see Him in His body someday when faith will become sight.
Your comments this day remind me of a poem I read many years ago that goes as follows:
“I believe in the sun even when it is not shining
I believe in love even when feeling it not.
I believe in God even when He is silent.”
(Inscription on a cellar wall in Germany where Jews hid from Nazis)
By the way, your nature sceneries that accompany your daily reflections are not only beautiful to admire, but is another evidence of the existence of God. It is as if God “spilled the paint.”