Sight Unseen

<p>After Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space, he parachuted into the Russian countryside. A farmwoman spotted the orange-clad cosmonaut, still wearing his helmet and dragging two parachutes. &ldquo;Can it be that you have come from outer space?&rdquo; she asked in surprise. &ldquo;As a matter of fact, I have,&rdquo; he said. </p> <p>Soviet leaders sadly turned the historic flight into anti-religious propaganda. &ldquo;Gagarin went into space, but he didn&rsquo;t see any god there,&rdquo; their premier declared. (Gagarin himself never said such a thing.) As C. S. Lewis observed, &ldquo;Those who do not find [God] on earth are unlikely to find Him in space.&rdquo; </p> <p>Jesus warned us about ignoring God in this life. He told a story of two men who died&mdash;a rich man who had no time for God, and Lazarus, a destitute man rich in faith (Luke 16:19&ndash;23). In torment, the rich man pleaded with Abraham for his brothers still on earth. &ldquo;Send Lazarus,&rdquo; he begged Abraham. &ldquo;If someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent&rdquo; (vv. 27, 30). Abraham got to the heart of the problem: &ldquo;If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead&rdquo; (v. 31). </p> <p>&ldquo;Seeing is never believing,&rdquo; wrote Oswald Chambers. &ldquo;We interpret what we see in the light of what we believe.&rdquo; </p>