EXPERIENCING THE PRESENCE OF GOD
From Creation to Creator
ONE of the three astronauts who travelled in the Apollo 15 American spacecraft was Colonel James Irwin. In August 1972, he described the magic of that moment, when he set foot on the moon. It was an ecstatic experience, he said, to feel oneself in God’s presence, to feel so close to Him that His greatness appeared before one’s eyes.
Colonel Irwin did not look on his voyage to the moon as a voyage of mere scientific discovery; it had given him new spiritual life as well. He left NASA in 1972 to start the High Flight Foundation, a Colorado Springs based religious organization.
The moon was a new sight for Colonel Irwin. That is why, struck by its magnificence, he was able to experience there the presence of God. When he saw Earth from space he expressed his feelings saying, “Seeing this has to change a man; has to make a man appreciate the creation of God and the love of God.”
There is no greater discovery than the discovery of God, no greater realization than to feel Him everywhere. When this realization is awakened, everything becomes a reflection of His glory.
Colonel Irwin’s experience was not a unique one, for in truth all that God has created is so wonderful that one has only to gaze upon it to become lost in the wonders of what He has fashioned. The face of the Creator shines continually in the perfection of His creation.
In order to see God in His creation, we too have to look at everything— not as old and familiar—but as something new and exciting. We have to look at things as if we are seeing them for the first time. There is no greater discovery than the discovery of God, no greater realization than to feel Him everywhere. When this realization is awakened, everything becomes a reflection of His glory. The sunshine will portray His light, the trees His beauty. One will feel His gentle touch in the winds as they caress one’s body. As one prostrates oneself before Him, it will be as though one has cast oneself at His feet.
God is, indeed, everywhere, but only those who are blessed with vision can behold Him.