| I started the morning sitting in a tree stand. A few weeks ago I had trimmed limbs and opened up some shooting lanes for this new stand placement. I think it is going to be a good one. The cool morning was expected as well as the lingering fog that hovers over the hills, sometimes through the late morning. That was the case on this particular day. As I peered toward the sky just before dawn, I wondered if what I was looking at was clouds instead of the fog. But after a few more minutes I recognized the familiar look and feel of this hazy mist. It wasn’t long until I could see the sun began to peek over the mountains just in front of me. It would have its work cut out for it today as it began to slowly burn away the veil that was hiding everything from my view. I was actually surprised how quickly the fog began to surrender to the sun and it was not too many minutes later until it was all gone and everything around me became crystal clear. The lines between the objects that were blurred just a few minutes earlier were now distinct, prominent, and flawless. As I watched this transformation, I was reminded of a quote from C.S. Lewis. He said, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen. Not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” For him, Christianity gave perspective to the things in his world. It shone a light of understanding on otherwise confusing circumstances. By coming to know his God he could appreciate his world. By contrast, however, he was saying that without a proper view of God, life is only one random and undirected action after another. Or as Shakespeare’s Macbeth put it, “It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”
There is no doubt that life is full of head-scratching moments. Some are fleeting; others shake our very foundation and leave us changed forever. The lens that we view these through will either bring a sense of clarity or a deeper sense of confusion and despair. I am not saying my faith makes me perfectly understand everything, but it does gives me the same picture as the sun; that no matter what may seem unclear and indistinguishable, it will burn away the longer I am in His presence.
Gary Miller
gary@outdoortruths.org
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