Yes, we are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

Yes, we are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.

Some say God is an illusion, a fantasy that tricks us into believing in heaven and surrendering our one chance of life. But I say that God is the vision that transforms life. Even if this life is all there is, I don’t want to settle for earthbound joys – even though they fill the human heart to overflowing. In the presence of God, in his company, a spiritual life bursts into being that cannot exist without him. Humanism is a profound philosophy of life, and I understand the appeal of standing on our own two feet. But even this does not lift us up to the heights that God does. It is in our relationship with him that we let go of our old selves and find a new self, re-imagined in his image.

So, I do not want to settle for even the best that humankind can offer; I want to accept the gifts of God’s grace. And then, like God, I can walk in the gutter, where we have fallen to, and try not to fight over the crumbs that are left, but as he stooped down to lift me up, so I can hold out my hand to others.