This fellow didn’t have to look very far to see why he could answer that “Yes, I Believe God Is Real”. He might have been thinking about what it would be like to have God’s viewpoint of this blue spheroid He created, and indeed Alton Howard saw God in everything he could see in the earth and the universe that He created. (See here the earth, as God might have when He created it.) And so, that spurred Alton’s short testimonial in four verses and a chorus, and they’re not filled with any deep theology, but rather with suggestions about what anyone with two good eyes could ascertain. ‘Just look around yourself’, Alton might have summed up for anyone who asked him about God’s credibility and presence. It might strike a skeptic as too simple, but can you explain what you see without God in the picture? What takes more faith, to believe or not to believe? Is He really too incredible, or absurd? Alton didn’t think so.
Alton might easily be described as an exceptional person, and yet he pointed to whom he thought was truly exceptional – as the word actually means, according to the dictionary – and that would be God. Incomparable would be another appropriate adjective for Him, and how Alton perceived that incomparability is what his poem-song is all about. Though what, if any, specific event or circumstances stirred Alton’s inspiration for this song in 1973 (the year associated with its publication) are unknown, this author needed only what his life’s trajectory and its focus of worship spoke to him daily for the song’s content. So much could be said of Alton and his entrepreneurship and how his accomplishments resonate still today, and indeed if you want to know them, just check out the links below this entry – Alton’s obituary was certainly not one of mourning, but a celebration of a life so well lived. But if Alton could be called an entrepreneur extraordinaire, do you think it’s possible he was just looking at someone else as his model? What person looking at what He’s created – and Alton certainly looked quite closely, we could say – would conclude other than how Alton did? Alton Howard ticked them off in his few words – the stars and sky (v.1); storm(s) and the morn(ing) of each new day (v.2); things as small and unnoticed as dew, and others as lively as birds (v.3); and the sun and the evening shade that calibrate our walk here below (v.4). Is that enough to compel belief? Which one in the scope of Alton’s life was the true entrepreneur? God has many names, but when one looks at Alton and what he had to say about Him, other adjectives and names for God come to mind as we examine Alton’s life and how he reflected Him. Perhaps impresario or mogul are how we might characterize Him; how about genius or virtuoso? One of Alton’s eulogists said that he had ‘a pretty good batting average’ in the business things he tried, while having a few that did not work out. But, that’s part of the human experience, isn’t it? Even Christians don’t bat 1.000, though Alton kept swinging.
If Alton struck out on a few things, that doesn’t mean he became a doubter. It seems Alton wasn’t necessarily looking at his own achievements and his own efforts to imitate Him as a gauge for his belief. If that had been the barometer, Alton probably would have quit pretty early on in his journey. That’s what we can see if we look at this one extraordinary guy from West Monroe, Louisiana. He must have had a huge reserve of trust in the One whose creation spoke to him so clearly. ‘Try one thing, maybe, and if it doesn’t work out and point to Him or provide for others to see Him better, I’ll try something else’. That sounds like what must have played and replayed in Alton’s mind continually. He’s a God who doesn’t demand perfection, and so I can try again. Fall down? Get back up, and keep looking up. He’s got more in store for you. Others might say you were remarkable, as they reflect on a human life. What’s really remarkable is how He lets us bear His image at all.
Read about the author-composer here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alton_Hardy_Howard and also here: https://christianchronicle.org/songbook-publisher-entrepreneur-howard-dies-at-age-81/?A=SearchResult&SearchID=2809510&ObjectID=4369268&ObjectType=35
Information on the image is found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Blue_Marble,_AS17-148-22727.jpg … This file is in the public domain in the United States because it was solely created by NASA. NASA copyright policy states that "NASA material is not protected by copyright unless noted". (See Template:PD-USGov, NASA copyright policy page or JPL Image Use Policy.)---found inside this document -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth
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