an image of Him

have you seen Jesus? seriously. have you seen a cloud with a crown of thorns? did your danish have a beard this morning? did you get a sunburn in the shape of a cross? i always find it interesting when people have these "Jesus sightings" that basically could be anything, but interpret it as a sign of God. one look at a wood grain that bears resemblance to Chris Ferguson, and someone figures that he or she should never allow harm to come to that wood because it is somehow sacred. the simple fact is these images could be pretty much anything. what may be Jesus Christ to one person could be Willy Nelson to the next and just because you spilt your Kenyan coffee beans in the shape of a cross doesn't mean that God is calling you to the mission fields of Africa. however, there are certain messages in nature that can directly be related to the Gospel simply by design. from a tree's death bringing new life to a habitat to a bird migrating to a strange place in order to survive, tiny truths can be found in the span of all creation. often times we look for a sign in the unusual (which is still possible), but we tend to somehow lose sight of God's Providence in all things. its similar to some people's ideas of miracles. some may define miracle as only an unnatural occurrence or an anomaly, but they don't see that most of God's work is done through what we know as natural or scientific (despite what Esqueleto may say, belief in God could be considered synonymous with belief in science). we often pray for God to 'intercede' for us in a situation, but that exact situation may be what God wants for us. God doesn't operate outside of the world, He is  in the world. He is everywhere. and we will see Him everyday if we are looking. as we are made in His image, so is the universe.