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July 2008 

            This past week Gina and I took the girls to see Dr. Suess-inspired movie, Horton Hears a Who.  In the movie, Horton, an elephant, hears a voice coming from a tiny speck of dust.  Eventually, Horton realizes that there is an entire city called Whoville living on this speck of dust.  It becomes Horton's mission to get the speck of dust to a safe location so the residents of Whoville can live in tranquility forever.

            Every story needs an antagonist and Horton Hears a Who is no different.  The antagonist is a Kangaroo (voiced beautifully by Carol Burnette) who doesn't want Horton, and his crazy ideas, to influence the children of the jungle.  The kangaroo is determined that Horton is delusional, and that his behavior is unacceptable.  At one point Kangaroo says, "If you can't see it, smell it, or feel it then it doesn't exist."

            Kangaroo's statement seems perfectly reasonable...until you consider Christianity.  We are told that no one can see the face of God and live.  Yet, we believe.  It's been nearly 2000 years since anyone has seen Jesus Christ.  Yet, we believe.  Then there's the Holy Spirit.  Tell me the last time you saw a photograph of the Holy Spirit.

            Sure we see evidence of God in our world.  Granted we see Jesus' "hands, feet, arms, legs, etc" in acts of compassion and justice.  And there is no doubt that we see the effects of the Holy Spirit.  However, in the end, it comes down to faith.  Paul writing to the Corinthians said, "we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal" (2 Cor. 4:18).  Likewise, the writer of Hebrews says, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Heb. 11:1).

            May God bless the "Hortons" of this world who faithfully stand by their belief in things not seen.

Grace and peace,

Randy