We needed to get out. Christmas had been good, and we’d enjoyed seeing the family, but most of it had taken place indoors. I stared out the window, but it just looked grim. Clouds hung in the sky speaking the constant threat of rain. In the end though, the craving for fresh air won, so we got in the car and headed off to Thetford Forest.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised, despite the weather. It was winter, so not much colour. The light from the sky was blah, so no interesting shadows. Yet, the landscape had a beauty to it. Although the greens were muted and there were a lot of browns, it still looked lovely.

It made me ask why. Why is the world such a beautiful, interesting and varied place? What answer would you give to that question?

Recently, I watched the first episode of the BBC series ‘Universe’. Two things impressed me. The first was the computer-generated graphics. The second, although probably more important, was that the presenter, Prof. Brian Cox, wasn’t afraid to ask the big questions of life. ‘Where did we come from?’ ‘Why are we here?’ ‘What’s it all about?’

Yet, when he gave his answers, personally I found them deeply unsatisfying. It didn’t excite me to hear that life came from the random work of the stars and that our legacy was a brief period of life that won’t be remembered when the lights eventually go out in the universe. Now, I understand that I’m a Christian and Prof. Cox is an Atheist and it’s unlikely that we’ll ever agree on these things. But, I just found his answers left me empty and didn’t seem to explain the beautiful reality of life and the world around us.

Some of you may feel I’m old fashioned and have my head buried in the sand, but I still prefer the historical answer to the questions of existence. That behind it all is a creator God who made the world with intention and purpose. It’s the answer we see in the Bible and one that I find fills my life with meaning and fits with what I see around me.

However, it is an answer that comes with a health warning. If God made us, that does affect the way we see ourselves and go about our lives. If there is a creator, then we must, in some way, be accountable to him.  How you are with God becomes a question of ultimate importance.

Do you agree or disagree? I’d love to hear your thoughts so if you want to get in touch, you can contact me through our contact page.