the invitation
We see with our eyes, but to know God, we must see with our hearts, too. An essay that is actually an invitation to participate in God's creation.
Humming along to the bird’s morning song, stopping to say hello to the scent of summer hanging on late spring’s breeze. Numbering the stars in a painting. Penning poetry inspired by a sliver of moon shining against a black night sky.
Little delights, small moments that may not make it into a journal, may not be remembered by dinnertime; and yet, these acts are active participation in God’s creation.
I’d never considered this until a few Sundays ago, when two small sentences changed my understanding of the Gospel and our role in God’s creation. During the homily, our priest noted that the stone was not rolled away so the resurrected Christ could exit the tomb. It was rolled away so the women visiting the tomb could see the tomb was empty, thus witnessing God’s power and promise in action. The stone, our priest explained, was rolled away, not for Christ, but for us.
I’ve never heard this event interpreted that way, and it felt profound. A week later, I pressed play on an episode of the Lord of Spirits podcast, We Have Seen the Lord1, and, astonishingly, the Podfathers said the same thing. My mind felt like that head-blowing-off emoji. Twice in two weeks I was taught God doesn’t call us to simply live. He invites us to be active participants in His creation.
This isn’t a new idea, not even, really, to me. In Mary As The Early Christians Knew Her, Frederica Mathewes-Green explores the evolution of the adulation of Mary, the Blessed Theotokos. Mathewes-Green’s analysis and discussion of The Annunciation Hymn includes this insight: “the goal is not so much understanding God in a rational way as directly experiencing him.” A few paragraphs later, she writes, “What’s important is to participate—to be fully there.” She notes that God’s plan for the salvation of mankind “required the partnership of a regular person.”
We know God wants us to know Him, but the “how” of knowing, the whole “getting to know” of knowing, is more involved and requires effort. You know how there’s a difference between knowing someone through her Instagram posts and a few friendly DMs, and knowing someone in real life? I think that’s how it is with God. We live in a world of His design, and though we see with our eyes the world around us, may even take a moment, now and again, to drink in the puffy white clouds set against bluest blue on our daily commute, many of us are not in the habit of stopping to admire the beauty that surrounds us. We see with our eyes, but to know God, we must see with our hearts, too.
What does that mean? Imagine you turn on the radio and Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah fills the dining room. You’re writing an essay, so the music, though deep and resonant, is but background noise, a lovely rhythm to write to. You finish typing and the song plays again, but this time it isn’t background noise, it’s art, it’s Cohen’s baritone crawling through your chest, into your heart. It’s an image of David playing music beneath a radiant light shining upon him. It’s wanting to sing along but stopping the words as they creep onto your lips because you don’t want to break the spell that is words and sound and visions swirling all around. It’s this song, recorded decades ago, performing to you, the audience, in the present; it’s bending time and it is beautiful. Vincent Van Gogh spent his life longing for eyes other than his own to gaze upon his paintings; poets spill their souls onto paper in hopes of touching another’s heart; actors deliver monologues to stagelights and wait with bated breath for the audience to respond, to know they haven’t simply spoken into the void. Creators spend their lives searching for truth, striving to share the little they find along the way, creating something out of nothing to connect with others.
For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
Romans, chapter 1, verse 20
Humanity finds ultimate connection through creation. If we, who are created in His image and likeness, are driven to connect through art, imagine, then, how much more God, maker of Heaven and Earth, desires to connect with us. Beauty is everywhere. It is the melody of crickets on a warm summer night, the dancing flame of a candle, the scent of fresh flowers filling a room, a rainstorm giving way to a rainbow, a smile between strangers. It is the uniqueness of a snowflake, the salty sea breeze, the rushing of a river, the stillness of morning.
The world is a masterpiece because the Lord delights in sharing beauty with us. He gifts us pieces of Himself in every good thing. To see, to really see, the ripples on a placid lake, the colors in a sunset, the beauty in all nature and all people and all things, is to know God. To know God is to love Him, and to love Him is the first step toward salvation.
A moment’s pause, to marvel at the shape of the clouds; to notice the weight in a stranger’s gait, or the hope refracting in their eyes. A “Thank you, God,” that passes from your lips onto the gentle wind, or a quick prayer straight from your heart to the Heavens. A moment is all it takes to acknowledge God’s handiwork, to admire, to thank, to participate in.
In a distracted world, where screens replicate—poorly—natural beauty and human connection, we must commit daily to seeing with our eyes and our hearts the beauty that surrounds us. It is, after all, through His work that we truly get to know God.
Katherine Mansfield is a full-time mom and when-she-can-sneak-a-few-minutes-of-writing-in writer who runs on the sheer joy of parenthood, coffee, and God’s grace. first drafts is a free, reader-supported passion project. If you like what you read, consider sharing this post with someone else who might like it, too; tipping the writer; or becoming a free or paid subscriber.
I THINK this is the episode, but if it isn’t, please correct me. Also, if you’ve never tuned in, I highly encourage giving LoS a listen!
I saved this to read when I had an extra moment... and it was so worth it. A lovely piece, thank you for sharing!! (I'm currently working on finding my way back into religion... and this made me smile)