I’m a farmer through and through. It was a wonderful experience working as a farm manager on two glorious Boland wine farms for 12 years. You work hard throughout the year. First, you prune until your hands seize up in the early morning hours.

Shortly after that, buds start appearing on the grey, lifeless vine and suddenly there’s an explosion of green. It’s as if the vines cannot contain themselves and simply have to let the life and strength inside them out. In the early morning, when all is silent and the sun is still hiding behind the mountains, it’s as if you can hear the leaves worming their way out. You can hear them grow.

And then the grapes start to ripen and you know soon it will be time to harvest them. And when the grapes start turning red in colour, you know: Prepare the presses and the shears – the grapes must get to the cellar.

Early morning, as the people chatter loudly amongst themselves, and you smell the diesel fumes from the tractors fill, and you hear the sound of the first grapes dropping into the cart, I am silent. I look back over the year and say: There must be a God!

I’m a farmer through and through. When I see the rain coming, I drag out the 50-kilogramme bag of fertilizer and sow the salt (as the farmers call it) all over. The lush plants, bushes and trees in my garden are grateful, here in our beautiful town with the majestic mountains in the background.

You don’t see the pale green leaves of the amaryllis until one day you notice the long, thick stem. Then you know they’re coming. Your anticipation grows. A beautiful new life is on the brink of being born.

And then it happens. From the green bud burst living, red leaves glued together in perfect harmony to form an indescribably beautiful flower. The pollen threads stand up boldly, stirring softly in the wind. Provocatively waiting for the bees to complete the chain.

As I look out over my garden, I say: There must be a God! There must be a Creator God …

Then I cannot understand why so many, many people fail to see the Creator God. Are they blind or are their minds playing tricks on them? Are they stuck in their own screwed up thoughts or do they simply lack the ability to understand?

No, this has to do with faith. Faith in God makes it possible for you to understand. When you look at creation through the lens of faith, the fog the others see is cleared away and you can see God’s hand in everything.

³By faith, we see the world called into existence by God’s word, what we see created by what we don’t see.

Maybe we should take off our glasses and lend them to the people around us. Maybe they’ll also start seeing God.

Scripture
Hebrews 11:1-6

Reflection
Are you looking through the lens of faith?
How do you see God?
Who needs your glasses?

Prayer
O God, almighty Creator God! How awesome is Your creation! Every moment, it paints a picture of You. How amazing is this! All the glory to You. Yes, for sure, soli Deo gloria. Amen.