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We left off in Part 3 of our “God for Dummies” series asking ourselves what pictures we would include in our Dummies book in order to help capture the presence of God, that experience of “wordless wonder.” Let’s consider a few.

How about an early morning sunrise, with beams of sunlight bouncing off the morning dew? The haze just beginning to burn off. Creation isn’t quite yet in focus, but before your very eyes it is coming into focus. For a fleeting moment, time stands still as you experience the presence of something – you’re not sure what – but whatever it is, you wish you could hang on to it forever. But you can’t. Wordless wonder. And before you know it, it is gone.

Or what about the other end of the day, when it’s time for the nightshift to take over? An evening sunset, when the warm glow of the moon is just beginning to peek out, just a sliver; the sun seemingly splits apart on the distant horizon, bursting forth into brilliant shades yellows and oranges and reds that you can’t begin to describe. It dribbles itself over the skyline like an egg yoke cracking. “Good night, earth,” it seems to be saying. “Sleep well. See you in the morning. Moon, it’s all yours.” There’s that feeling again. Wordless wonder. If only you could freeze the moment forever. But you can’t, and it’s gone.

Experiencing the presence of God. Digital shots of God. Maybe a shot of planet earth taken from “outer space,” a simple reminder of just how insignificant this big blue marble we call our home is in the greater realm of things. Or maybe we move in a little closer. Instead of a space ship, what if we hop into a helicopter? How about a wide-angled lens shot of representatives of all the nations of the world, perhaps taken from the view of a helicopter hovering above? All God’s children holding hands, smiling, singing the same lyrics to the same tune, but in all the languages of the world. Sort of like a cross between the story of Pentecost in the Book of Acts and that Coke commercial from a few years ago – “I’d like to teach the world to sing in perfect harmony” – that one. Once again, time stands still as chills run up and down your spine. Wordless wonder. If only . . . . But no. It is gone….

Or maybe a simple black and white photo of little children dancing between raindrops, or simply sitting on a stoop, holding hands, and giggling. About what, nobody knows. But nobody needs to know. That’s the pint. Or maybe a close up of an elderly gentleman, his face weathered with age, rocking on the front porch of the house he was born in 90-some-0dd years ago, holding hands with his bride of 67 years, staring off into that sunset we talked about a minute ago.

God for Dummies. What do you think? Blank pages, followed by words of analysis, followed by more blank pages? Or blank pages, followed by pictures, followed by more blank pages? Actually, it doesn’t have to be either/or, does it? It could be both/and. More on that next time.

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