A beautiful garden path is before you. As you enter, you notice that the path is lined with perfectly spaced pavers and pristinely trimmed hedges. The garden beds begin with small flowers on the outer rims and graduate to taller flowers in the middle. At the center of each bed is a manicured tree. There are no weeds to be found, and everything is well watered. Yet, you don’t see a gardener. Would you exclaim, “What a beautiful accident!”? No! You would know that there must be a gardener. Just because he is not there with you does not cause you to question his existence.

We all have an innate knowledge that there is more than just this life and have been given a beautiful creation to prove it. At In Grace, we acknowledge that God is rational and created us to think. Faith doesn’t mean that we are supposed to just close our eyes and jump. On the contrary, spiritual faith is based on real facts and solid evidence. Faith is trust in truth and the truth is this: just as a beautiful garden cannot happen by chance, neither can the wonders of creation exist without the Creator God.

There are so many fallible things that we exhibit faith in every day. Take the doctor, for instance. Do we demand to see his grades during our annual check-ups, or ask to examine his malpractice records? When we walk on an airplane, do we demand to see the pilot’s license and the maintenance record for the airplane? We exercise trust all the time because it is essential to life. That same trust is necessary for our spiritual life as well.

Perhaps you have a family member that could be reached by this simple garden illustration. It may serve as a way for you to start a conversation with that person you always sit next to on the train each morning. Or, it may simply remind you today that you serve an infallible Creator who is worthy of your trust.