Recently I asked a new acquaintance how he would describe his religious or spiritual beliefs. His response was similar to others I’ve heard over the years, he said: “Well, I’m a scientist, so I don’t believe in God, if that’s what you mean.” That response is one that has always amazed me. It isn’t that I doubt the man’s sincerity in his statement, I’m just amazed that his scientific training has inclined him away from rather than toward belief in a creator. When I asked what he meant, he went on to explain that a study of history is replete with examples of ignorant man attributing unexplained natural phenomena to the gods. As such things became more deeply understood, science has been able to explain them without “needing to create a mythology to support it”.

In contrast, the more I learn about the incredible complexities of the heavens, earth, living things, inorganic things and their properties, natural processes, human beings, and the connections between all these, the more awed I am by the creativity, wisdom, beauty, and power of our amazing God and Father who is the Creator and sustainer of all.

In addition to the things science has taught me, the things that remain unexplained also inspire me to faith. I believe mystery belongs to God.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, or inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen, but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

I haven’t ever seen my “inner self”, but I am convinced that I have one. I’ll go further out on a limb and say that the older I get, the more I can detect the difference between my outer and inner self. The outer one is indeed beginning to noticeably waste away, but I feel the daily renewal of my inner self. There’s more. According to this scripture, the outer self is temporary, but the inner self is “eternal”……..Wow! This is my great hope and joy, that the part of me that is wasting away, losing the fight with time, is only part of me. Even though it is the most visible part of me, it isn’t the most “real” nor the most enduring. The invisible part of me will last forever, and be with my God and Father who created me, and His son, Jesus Christ.

I can’t prove this of course, but I believe that in time He will.