Evidence

When I think of London, I think of good friends, wonderful conversations, and fantastic food.  I know the latter isn’t intuitive to those with a picture of old England, but for me the experiential evidence is overwhelming.  Small restaurants, hidden places in unknown alleys, and wonderful chefs; you can kind these all over the city.  When you combine the latter with the former-hmmmm, it is a guarantee for great memories.
 
As fond as I see England when pause, I know others do not always share my view.  They see something quite differently.  For whatever reason, the evidence, experience, and dream they have are not in harmony with my own.  When I pause, the difference in perspective is stark.  It isn’t just England.  The wonder of New York sits in contrast to the perspective of the dark side.  The beauty of Colorado’s mountains is, for many, just beyond their ability to comprehend.  There is evidence, but for reasons I do not always comprehend, others just do not see it.
 
It is striking how far this difference extends.  I find Hope and Divinity in the lives around me.  Others see lives full of doubt, adversaries that will win many of the battles to come, and an uncertain future.  There is evidence to support all this and more. 
 
In the middle of this confusion, I find myself holding onto a promise.  In your life and mine, God works.  “Everyone will see this.  No one can miss it—unavoidable, indisputable evidence that I, God, personally did this.  It's created and signed by The Holy of Israel.”  (Isaiah 41.20)
 
We have an incredible opportunity; we can make God’s work in our lives visible.  We can live out the reality of compassion.  We can show how mercy really works.  We can do what others often fail to do; accept each other as we are-without expectation, without judgment.
 
Today is a window of new evidence, waiting for someone to paint and others to experience.  We can be Hope realized.  Everything is possible in every circumstance.  We are God’s evidence for the world today.