Green is my daughter’s favorite. She loves everything green: grass, trees, even little green bugs. It occurred to me the other day that if a child was born colorblind and saw the whole world in black and white, she would not know what color is. If she were to ask you to describe the color green, you may say that green is the color of grass. If you look at grass and leaves and the new Wal-Mart eco-friendly sign that is “the” thing, what they all have in common is the color green. Still, this child would likely say, “I do not get it.” That person would not understand what these things have in common because she cannot relate at all to the experience of seeing green. You could say, “Well, it is light that comes in at 480 nanometers.” That still does not really describe the experience of seeing the color green.

As I was thinking about this analogy, I realized that we are all colorblind. The Lord says, “My ways are higher than your ways, my thoughts are not your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). I believe this explains the basic problem that people use when they do not understand Christianity. If God is good then why does he allow bad things to happen? We all have some problem that occurred to us or to those we love that is unfair and unexplainable. And we rail against these injustices. Many people have come to the conclusion that God either does not exist, or if he does exist, he does not care. And this is a result of what I believe is our colorblindness. We do not understand.

We cannot understand the scope of the universe, the link to infinity, the existence of heaven, or the spiritual world. The things that God inhabits include not only the world we see, but other dimensions. Time does not exist for him like it does for you and me. He sees time from the beginning to the end. He made time. He is the author of time. He is in all things. I have come to believe that there is a unique element to the universe and to our existence—a spiritual dimension that defies materialistic definition and understanding. And, yes, while God has left us clues in his creation, ultimately we will never see color.

We are fully spirit. That is why Paul says that one day we will fully know. He makes the analogy of seeing a reflection in the mirror dimly what will one day be completely visible (I Corinthians 13:12). I believe it is a useful way to think about the difficulties we have when we experience trials and tribulations that we cannot understand.