Do geese see God?

Do geese see God?

At first glance, this appears to be a quasi-theological question.  It is also somewhat trivial, speculative, and probably irrelevant to any real issue.  Perhaps it should be filed in the same drawer as, “How many angels can dance on the head of a pin?”

If we pause, though, and look at this a little more carefully and thoughtfully, there is a greater significance here.  Have you figured it out?

It is true; this is not a theological statement, at least not directly.  If we observe closely, though, we will notice a particularity about this sentence:  it is a palindrome.  A palindrome is a word, phrase, or sentence that is the same whether it is read from left to right (the normal way) or right to left (backwards).  Palindromes are an area of word-play fun for which there is even an annual award called the “Symmys.”  Yes, that, too, is a palindrome.  So are words like radar, noon, civic, and kayak.  A particularly famous palindrome is, “A man, a plan, a canal, Panama.”

When I was introduced to, “Do geese see God?,” it was as an example of a palindrome, so no real surprise for me.  But then I got to over-thinking it (as I sometimes do) and realized this may serve as a good memory trigger for more significant truths, especially since this particular palindrome references both the Creator and His creation.

First, this reminds me that God knows the end from the beginning.  It is all the same to Him.  After all, He is the author of life and has, from before the creation of the world, designed and planned all things for His purposes.  Isaiah put it this way (and check out Solomon’s commentary in Ecclesiastes 3:11):

 "Remember the former things long past,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is no one like Me,
Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things which have not been done,
Saying, 'My purpose will be established,
And I will accomplish all My good pleasure.’”  (Isa 46:9-10 NASB)

At first glance, the palindrome didn’t make any sense.  In fact, it seemed a little ridiculous (few palindromes actually make a lot of sense).  But once it became clear it was a palindrome, there was more clarity about the question whether or not geese see God.  So also is it with our daily life experiences.  The only one who really understands what is going on is the Creator God who has ordered the events according to His purposes.

We are uncomfortable with that because we want to know (that was Satan’s temptation to Adam and Eve - they would have understanding like God’s).  And we want to control.  And how can we possibly explain the horrors of injustice we witness around the world every day?  How can a loving God allow these things to be?

This is an important question that cannot be dismissed with, “Well, God is good.  Just trust Him.”  As true as that may be, it is an unsatisfying answer to the one who is suffering.  Part of the answer has to be based on the conviction that God IS God.  It takes a lifetime to learn that, often through the processes of suffering and injustice.  

This palindrome reminds me of another reality:  things are not always what they appear to be.  The sentence about geese and God is simple and trite.  But someone sat down and figured out how to create a grammatically correct sentence that does, at least at a very basic level, contain meaning.  This is the product of a creative and hard-working mind.

Are you not convinced?  Try writing a palindrome of four words that does convey a meaning of some sort.  It isn’t easy.  If you google for palindromes, you will note that most of them are very nonsensical.  At least this one has some meaning.

So also, part of our faith-life skillset in times of crisis, confusion, suffering, or injustice, is to remember that things are not always as they appear to be.  Job’s suffering was not punishment from God, Joseph’s brother’s cruelty was redeemed by God to save nations, Esther was in the royal court “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14).  

Our lack of understanding does not equate a lack of purpose in the divine design.  This is why a reconciled relationship with God is called a life of faith.  It is living with hope and conviction in the truth and reality of the unseen yet ever-present hand of God.