Some years ago, my husband worked with a cartoonist named Al Hartley. You may remember him from the Archie Comics series, or the days when he worked with Stan Lee developing Marvel characters that are still around today. At some point, Hartley tuned into God’s frequency and developed the Archie Christian comics series. He created the artwork you see represented here as a gift to Bruce Barbour. Since it hangs in our house today, I’ve had many chances to appreciate Hartley’s work. Of course, I was a fan of Archie, Betty, and Veronica, and even, Jughead.
I think this picture is a great illustration of the way some of us search for God. We look into nature and the vast sea of possibilities and hope it will shine a light on God’s existence. We find peace and a sense of calm, but we walk away, knowing we did not really discover the true nature of God. We catch a glimpse of the One who created everything around us, but it doesn’t fill the longing we have to know God for ourselves.
Others of us, are pretty sure God just isn’t there. We stand firm with our arms crossed in our unbelief, convinced by our own intellect that God is a myth. We imagine believers to be those who just can’t face reality. We look, but we simply don’t see anything that is convincing, because, after all, we’re smarter than that.
A few of us are really the luckier ones, the blessed ones, in the view of this writer. After all, we didn’t really know how to look for God. We looked but weren’t sure what we’d find. Some of us even stopped looking because we were too blind to see. Despite our efforts or lack of efforts, God showed up anyway. He planted Himself right behind us around us, and in front of us, making it very clear He was there. Then, He did an amazing thing. He pushed our doubts aside. He knew we were helpless to find Him and so He just showed up and claimed us as His own.
Hartley probably didn’t have this in mind, when he created this awesome piece of artwork featuring my husband’s three children. However, it strikes me as an impressive example of the way God does things. He makes us curious about Him and hopes we’ll see that He exists in all things. He steps back when we want to be in control and lets us believe we can stand under our own power. Of course, He knows eventually we will figure out He’s right there, right beside us. He always has been, and always will be.
If you’re still trying to figure out where God is today, you might look around, or you might convince yourself He’s on vacation. But, if you’re really ready to find Him, then look up, or turn around and call His name. You’ll see Him standing right there beside you, ready to scoop you up in His everlasting embrace.
Blessings to you today.