Have you seen Jesus my Lord?

You can find him in a sunset or the electron transport system.

Summer heat and humidity often remind me of the weeks I spent at Camp Maranatha, a church camp located in north Alabama. Just the words summer and Alabama should give you a good indication of what it felt like to be there. When I was a camper there in the early 1990’s most of the cabins had running water and electric lights, but there was no air conditioning. Giant fans circulated the hotter-than-hot air and provided something that resembled a breeze. But nothing could be done about the humidity. My entire being was at least slightly damp from the time I got out of the air-conditioned car on Sunday afternoon until my mom picked me up on Friday afternoon.

The week in between was filled with Bible study, mediocre camp food, endless games for four-square, ridiculous skits, swimming, and laughter. My favorite part of camp, and what I remember the most, was the singing. Every evening was spent sitting on the wooden deck behind the Dining Hall singing whatever songs we could talk the music leaders into playing. I now realize that the camp song book—creatively titled Songs—was a fairly odd mix of 1970’s folk songs (“One Tin Soldier” and “If I Had a Hammer”), Bible-story songs (“Blindman” and “Pharaoh, Pharaoh”), along with a variety church hymns and choruses. My favorite songs were the ones we could harmonize with “Have You Seen Jesus My Lord” (John Fischer, 1970) at the very top of my list. Not only was the harmony beautiful, but the lyrics were perfect for a warm summer evening in the woods under a starry sky.

Have you seen Jesus my Lord,
He's here in plain view.
Take a look, open your eyes,
He'll show it to you.

Have you ever stood at the ocean
with the white foam at your feet; 
felt the endless thundering motion,
Then I say you've seen Jesus my Lord.

Have you ever stood at the sunset
with the sky mellowing red;
Seen the clouds suspended like feathers,
Then I say you've seen Jesus my Lord.

I now realize that this song was the first exposure I had to the idea that we can experience and know God through his creation. For me experiencing God through creation occurs not just outside in the woods or on a seashore. I also sense God’s presence in the lab while I’m preparing samples or contemplating the significance of a set of data. I am also aware of God’s creativity when I attempt to understand the electron transport system or how temperature affects the way enzymes work together. I am in awe of the way members of an ecosystem interact.

Science is hard, and some days I am tempted to give it up. In the end I always stick with it because of the way that science gives me an intimacy with God that I just haven’t been able to find anywhere else.