On a recent cloudy day Chloe asked me, "Where's the sun?" I told her it was behind the clouds. "No it's not," she replied. Apparently, Chloe is having a hard time believing something is there if she can't see it.

Yet Chloe's mindset is very common among many people who don't believe in God. If they can't see him, then he must not be there.

For them, "seeing is believing," as the saying goes. But just because you don't see something doesn't mean it isn't there. In fact, there are many things we can't see, yet we still believe in them.

You can't see air, yet you breathe it and it sustains your life. You can't see gravity, but jump off a building and you'll find out just how real it is. Germs are too small to see with the naked eye, but get one and it will make you sick. Magnetism is an invisible force, but it attracts and repels whether we see it or not.

Personally, I have never known anyone who has denied the existence of things such as air, gravity, germs and magnetism. Yet I have known plenty of people who have denied the existence of God. The reason they deny his existence? Because they cannot see him.

It's rather short-sighted, if you'll pardon the pun.

Romans 1:20 says, "For since the creation of the world (God's) invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse."

This verse plainly acknowledges that God has invisible attributes. One of those attributes is his eternal power. He had power to create the universe by merely speaking it into existence (Genesis 1). He has power to save us from our sins (John 3:16). He has power to bring all of history to a close and take us home to be with him (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17).

The other invisible attribute of God is his divine nature. Scripture tells us that God is holy (Psalm 99:3). God is gracious, righteous and full of compassion (Psalm 116:5). God is love (1 John 4:16).

Paul says that these invisible attributes have been clearly seen. That presents a paradox: How can you see something that is invisible? By seeing it through the eyes of faith.

Even though you may not see him, you can rest assured that God is there. He is there, and he loves you.

Parrish Myers is pastor of Pine Crest Baptist Church in Gainesville. His column appears biweekly in Sunday Life.