Where I Find God?

 Today is Easter Suday. When I checked my e-mail early this morning, I had received an Easter greeting from one of my favorite auctioneers. It wasn't a surprise; I receive a similar message from him every year. I also received my Easter greeting from Alex McFarland, my go-to guy on religious questions. Alex is an evangelist and specializes in Christian apologetics. He has a website and has authored plenty of books. I have read several. 

As you have probably read here before, I am not a terribly religious man, I am a Methodist. Several months ago, Larry Fleet released a song called "Where I Find God". Of course, it is available on You Tube. I like the version where Morgan Wallen sings with Larry. If you have time after reading this swill, here's a link. Go listen! Larry Fleet - Where I Find God (feat. Morgan Wallen) (Live) (youtube.com)

Over the last seventy years I have belonged to several different churches. I have left a few because "I didn't find God there." Were they bad churches? No, they just weren't a good fit for me. I know that this may not surprise any readers, but I have a tendency to ask questions that no one else will ask. I learned to ignore people's reactions long ago. I just go ahead and ask the questions.

I listened to Fleet's song and learned a lot from it. I realized that throughout life I had found God at times but didn't always realize when it happened.

My paternal grandfather was a Baptist minister. He was the pastor at David Baptist Church in Kings Mountain for many years. He and his wife and my father are buried in the little cemetery at David Baptist. A few years ago on Father's Day, my wife and I attended the morning worship at David Baptist. My last time there had been in 1959, so there wasn't anyone that I knew there. However, the current pastor had known my grandfather. As my wife and I sat there through the worship service I experienced an odd feeling. Looking back from today's perspective, I would say that I found God on that Father's Day in Kings Mountain. Wouldn't Father's Day be the appropriate day to find God? After the service, we visited with the pastor and some other folks who had known my family. We also visited the cemetery, and I shared some thoughts with my grandfather and father.

Last November, I attended the Moultrie Swap Meet in November. It takes place at Spence Field which had been an Army Air Force training base during the World War 2 era. There is still a small active airport there, but the main purpose of the field now is that it is home to an industrial park and the Sunbelt Agricultural Expo. The car swap meet, and a couple of other shows are just a bonus. Anyway, on Saturday afternoon I spent 30 minutes talking about religion with a guy who strayed in looking for old license plates. I don't quite recall how we ended up on religion. He was a Gideon and we spent time discussing the idea of whether God was in all churches. When I talked to my wife that evening, I told her about this encounter. She finally said, "What are you saying?" I replied, "I was talking to a guy at the car show and realized that I had found God on an old airport tarmac surrounded by tires and tools."

My wife likes to go to the beach for her birthday. The good news is that her birthday is in February and it's not peak season. This year she wanted to go to the Yorktown Beach Hotel in Historic Yorktown, Virginia. We spent a couple of days there and on Sunday morning we sat on the balcony and watched the sun come up over the Chesapeake Bay and the York River. It was a beautiful sight. You cannot look at the sunrise there and not see the glory of God. So, we found God at sunrise on the banks of the York River.

What's my point in all of this? I don't believe that the human race and the universe are an accident. I believe that science is at its worst when it refuses to acknowledge the existence of a higher power. We need to stop substituting science for faith. 

What's the moral of this Easter message? In his excellent book, "In the Arena", Richard Nixon wrote of visiting the Grand Canyon and the incredible view looking out over the canyon from the rim. He then told of going down to the floor of the canyon and looking back up at the heights. The moral of Nixon's story? Until you have been to the depths, you cannot truly appreciate the beauty of the heights. If anybody knew this, it was Nixon. Maybe if our nation can realize that we are in the depths, we can find our way back and return to the glory of the heights.

That ends this year's sermon. Thanks for reading!