Finding the Face of God

"It's like nothing you've ever seen. You may think you are inured, that nothing outside the mind can really interest you anymore, as sophisticated and knowledgeable as you are. But you would be wrong. You are a creature of the sun. The beauty and terror of it seen from so close can empty a mind, thrust anyone into a trance. It's like seeing the face of God, some people say, and it is true that the sun powers all living creatures in the solar system, and in that sense is our god. The sight of it can strike thought clean out of your head. And people seek it out for precisely that."

-2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson

I've been reading this book called 2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson. In this book, the year is 2312 and inter-solar system travel is the norm. No joke here, in the year 2312, you will be sitting on Mercury watching the sunrise. Seeing as Mercury is so close to the sun, however, you need to keep moving, or you get fried to a crisp, and, well, become nothing. The year is not 2312 and you are most certainly not sitting on Mercury,  Uranus, or any other planet for that matter, except for Earth. Here on Earth, we have the luxury of being able to watch the sunrise or sunset without being turned into God's bacon. Some people don't realize this. They go about their everyday lives without even stopping for a moment to ponder over this bright yellow thing in the sky, and when it's gone, they want it to come back so bad. I hear that a lot, living in the Pacific Northwest where it rains more often than not. I know I'm guilty of this, and I'm sure you are too.

"You may think you are inured, that nothing outside the mind can really interest you anymore, as sophisticated and knowledgeable as you are."

I woke up earlier than I anticipated this morning, largely in part due to the blinds of my window being open and my brother getting ready for school, but I couldn't help but stay up and watch the sunrise.

"The beauty and terror of it seen from so close can empty a mind, thrust anyone into a trance."

It reminded me of a time when I purposefully got up to watch the sunrise, a time when I needed the grace of God after a rough day beforehand. A buddy of mine had joined me that morning. Together we trekked up the hill to watch the sun pop up out of the horizon. This is what he wrote in his journal afterwards:

"When the sun slowly began to rise in the distance, I was mesmerized. It was amazing; from the moment the gold first hit the landscape all the way to the moment it was completely raised. I saw the beauty of God, the grace of Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit. I saw why Spike wanted to be there. Afterwards, we finally spoke. He said, “Thank you for joining me.” I replied, “Thank you for letting me come.” Spike then opened up a little and said he did have a rough day yesterday, but because of the sunrise (and hopefully being in the presence of a friend) made him feel better. And without telling him, I felt much better as well." *

It truly was amazing. I felt so much better about the day and the day before seemed like an afterthought. Don't even try asking me what bothered me. I don't even remember. We spend so much of our lives looking for God, looking for answers, but the answers are all around us. All we have to do is open our eyes.

"The sight of it can strike thought clean out of your head. And people seek it out for precisely that."

*Thanks to Taylor Hall for letting me share this.