‘God writes the Gospel not in the Bible alone
but also on trees and in the flowers and clouds and stars.’
Martin Luther
We are made in the image of God.
Made to be in relationship with God.
Made with five distinct ways of sensing the Spirit of God.
1. Vision
Our eyes see everything and yet often they see nothing.
Slow down and stop; allow your eyes to really see.
Under your feet,
Above your head.
What do you see?
How many individual pieces of natures jigsaw can you count?
Which stands out for you?
Which takes your breath away?
Is that God showing Himself to you?
2. Hearing
Before we recognise anything else we hear the voice of our mothers.
If you stop quietly now what can you hear?
Voices? Cars? Trains? Music?
Beyond the sounds what else can you hear?
Your own thoughts?
Your worries, to-do list?
Can you move them aside?
There you find God.
Can you hear Him?
In the distant bird song?
In the rustle of the trees?
In the movement of the lake?
3. Touch
Turn to face the wind.
Can you feel it on your face? On your hands?
Is it warm or cold; fierce or gentle?
Now take your hands and pick up a leaf, stone or branch.
Close your eyes and let your fingers feel nature.
Is it smooth or rough? Old or new? Alive or dead?
Turn to someone else and hold hands.
How does this feel? Awkward or easy?
What do these hands tell you about the person?
What does this tell you about God?
And what do your hands tell someone else?
4. Taste
Does anything taste as good as cold water on a hot day?
Perhaps hot tea on a cold winters day?
How about blackberries fresh from the bush?
Or carrots straight from the ground?
When did you last taste something that took your breath away?
We have lost connection between our food and our plate.
Where did your lunch come from?
How good did it taste?
Did it damage the world we live in?
Did it taste good enough for the damage it did?
5. Smell
Finally turn your attention to your nose.
Your nose can smell more than 1 trillion different smells!
How many can you smell right now?
As you walk in a spiral away from the base try and identify the odours on the air.
How many are man made?
How many come from the natural world?
Which do you like? Which do you not?
The sense of smell is most closely linked to memory.
Is there a smell which reminds you of someone in your past?
Or a meal? Or some other event?
Is there a smell which reminds you of God?
Perhaps a smell from a church?
or from a family meal?
or from nature?
How does it feel to sense God with you again through that memory?
God is not a being in the distance.
He is not the creator who abandoned us long ago.
God is alive and with us in The Holy Spirit.
We can See Him
Taste Him
Touch Him
Hear Him
Smell Him if we only stop and look and wait and let ourselves find Him.
Today, tomorrow, any day, every day.
