Monday, December 28, 2009

Two Ways to Live Our Lives

"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." Albert Einstein

I love the sentiment behind this quote even if I'm not completely certain of its attribution to Einstein. What's important is that it offers two views on how to interpret the world around us. The former view is one where God is disinterested or absent while the latter view presents a God active in His creation.

I believe the latter. There are "miracles" around us all the time. There are miracles found around the corner, in your neighborhood and your workplace. These miracles are often masked in the mundane grind of daily life. They seem more evident in times of blessing. They are sometimes covered by a cloak of trial or hardship....even then, if we look with eyes of faith, God is present and active.

Do you see the invisible hand of Providence in the various situations of your life? Do you see God in the blessings you receive? Are you comforted by Him in the trials of life? Is the Almighty at work in the mundane and the ordinary of your life?

This is the essence of a practiced Christian worldview - daily seeing the fingerprints of the Almighty God in the world around us.

4 comments:

Chris Cree said...

The cool thing is that we can train our eyes to see the "little" miracles around us so that over time they become more and more obvious to us. :)

Ted M. Gossard said...

Yes, ESI. Faith sees and unbelief doesn't. Reminds me of Qohelet in Ecclesiastes, who I've become pretty convinced saw God as a distant Deity whose goodness was not apparent. The other sage warns against him and ends the book properly. But yes, we need to ever be looking for God's good hand, and by faith we'll keep finding it.

A most Blessed and Happy New Year to you and yours!!!

Jimmy said...

I was starting my reading plan today reading Ezra 1 and my first thought was this post. i usually ponder your posts for some time before determining whether i have any thoughts and/or would they good to share.
Anyway, after reading Ezra I thought here is the hand of God in a big way. in a sense it was part of the preparatory phase of the coming of the Savior -- bringing the Jews back to Jerusalem to make ready a city for His coming.
On a personal note, when I keep in mind sovereign hand of God, I find my worship and joy are greater in the good times and grace to persevere and eyes looking for what God is teaching me in the hard times. He will never leave us nor desert us and cares for us greater than the sparrow.

Happy New Year, may you and yours experience much, much grace and peace this year

Every Square Inch said...

Chris - yes, we can indeed "train ourselves" to see God at work around us. In our home we us a phrase "vacation eyes" - meaning how when we're on vacation, we will observe everyday things like sunsets, clouds and scenery and be captivated by it. My wife will use the phrase to encourage us to do the same when we're not on vacation

Ted - thanks. And, I wish you and Deb a wonderful 2010

Jimmy - I agree in particular that setting our sights on God's sovereign hand intensifies our worship and gratitude for Him. Have a Happy New Year!