Cant Nature Be My Church?
How to respond to friends who say, If I can see God in nature, why bother going to church?  This video originally appeared at RealLifeCatholic.com and is used here with permission. Some people say, I see God in creation. Natures my church, so why would I bother going to church? Usually thats kind of a cop-out. Its like, I dont feel like going to church  heres my excuse.  But the reality is, of course you could see God out here. The greatest saints saw God in creation. St. Francis called the sun his brother and water his sister. We can see Gods presence everywhere in what he made. He intended it to be that way. Gods fingerprints are all over everything. Every time you see truth, beauty and goodness, youre seeing a little imprint of God in the things that he made. But dont stop there. When you see that, thats God calling you a deeper intimacy with himself. So when you see that, let it propel you to prayer, to worship and to things like going to church. Because when you focus on God in that direct and profound way, guess what: That doesnt take away from your experience of God and creation. It helps you see it even more clearly. You come out here and you see him in all his glory. Here we get the fingerprints of God in creation. But in church  the Body of Christ  you get him directly.